Ukraine Says 17 Killed by Shelling in Gorlivka

Seventeen people, including three children, were killed in the past 24 hours by shelling in Ukraine's rebel-held stronghold of Gorlivka, local Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.

A statement said that 43 people were also wounded in the city which was observing three days of mourning for 13 civilians including 2 children killed on Sunday by Grad rockets.

Several homes were hit by artillery fire in the town located 45 kilometers (28 miles) north of Donetsk, the statement said.

The top story of a school was destroyed and several units in a local hospital were also damaged, it added.

The United Nations has criticized the use of heavy weapons by both pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian forces in inhabited areas, and in a report released Monday said more than 1,100 had been killed by fighting since mid-April.