A Russian attack on a Red Cross vehicle in eastern Ukraine has killed three aid workers, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed that three of its staff were killed and two were wounded on Thursday when shelling hit the site of a planned aid distribution in the Donetsk region.

“I condemn attacks on Red Cross personnel in the strongest terms. It’s unconscionable that shelling would hit an aid distribution site,” ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement, adding: “Our hearts are broken today as we mourn the loss of our colleagues and care for the injured.”

All three were Ukrainian citizens, the country’s human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, said.

Zelenskyy called the incident “another Russian war crime”.

There was no immediate comment from Russia, which routinely says it hits only military targets.

ICRC vehicles were struck while staff prepared to distribute wood and coal briquettes to vulnerable households in Viroliubivka village before winter, the organisation said in a statement, adding that because aid distribution had yet to begin, no residents were affected.

“Our vehicles are clearly marked with the Red Cross emblem,” the statement said.

The UN humanitarian mission to Ukraine said 50 aid workers were killed or injured in Ukraine in 2023, including 11 killed in the line of duty.

Thursday’s strike came just days before Spoljaric is due to carry out a long planned visit to Moscow – her second since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, ICRC spokesman Jason Straziuso told the AFP news agency.

She is due to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other senior government officials to discuss “critical issues in conflicts globally, such as the respect of international humanitarian law, prisoners of war, the fate of the missing and protections for humanitarian workers,” he said.

The deadly shelling came as Moscow’s forces ramp up pressure on the battlefield in Donetsk, where the most intense fighting is now taking place.

“Russians have cut off the water supply to Pokrovsk,” the city administration said in a post on Telegram.

The key logistics hub lies about 10km (6 miles) from the front lines and is a major target for Russia’s troops.

Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin on Wednesday accused Russia of cutting off gas supplies to the city, where about 28,000 people still live despite calls to evacuate.

Blinken wraps up Europe trip

Russian shelling on Thursday also killed two people and injured seven in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said on the Telegram app that emergency services were working at the site after a Russian attack on Borova village when Moscow’s forces shelled it again. Three rescue workers were among the injured.

Zelenskyy also said an Egypt-bound cargo ship carrying wheat was hit by a Russian missile on the Black Sea, shortly after leaving Ukrainian waters.

Russia has increased its air attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks during Ukraine’s offensive on western Russia’s Kursk region, where Zelenskyy confirmed on Thursday that Moscow’s troops were mounting a counteroffensive.

Russia claims to have recaptured a swath of territory in the region on the border with Ukraine.

The counteroffensive was being carried out as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a three-nation, Ukraine-focused European tour in Poland – during which Ukrainian officials repeatedly appealed to be allowed to use Western-supplied long-range weapons to conduct strikes inside Russia.

Blinken travelled to Warsaw after spending a day in Kyiv with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy. The officials pledged to bring the Ukrainian requests to their leaders.

“As we go forward, we will do exactly what we have already done, which is we will adjust, we’ll adapt as necessary, including with regard to the means that are at Ukraine’s disposal to effectively defend against the Russian aggression,” Blinken said on Thursday at a news conference in Warsaw.