At least 30 people, including two children, died and more than one hundred were injured in a barrage of shelling from three rebel-controlled Grad rocket launchers on the eastern outskirts of the strategically vital port city of Mariupol. The rockets hit a market, residential buildings, and a toy store, scattering fire across the area.

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko underlined that the rocket attack was “not just a terrorist act, but a crime against humanity.” Observers on the scene from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and Human Rights Watch said the rockets had come from separatist-held territory to the city’s east.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned rocket attack on the city of Mariupol, which killed dozens of civilians and left over one hundred injured. He noted that rockets appear to have been launched indiscriminately into civilian areas, which would constitute a violation of international humanitarian law.

The Secretary-General further denounced unilateral withdrawal from the cease-fire by rebel leadership, and particularly their provocative statements about claiming further territory. This constitutes a violation of their commitments under the Minsk accords.