Authorities in the city of Chernihiv are reporting that a U.S citizen was one of several people who were killed during a Russian attack in the city this week.

Chernihiv police reported on Facebook that Russian forces launched a heavy artillery attack on the city which is just north of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.

The news was confirmed on Thursday by the state Department.

While officials did not release the name of the deceased, they did say that the U.S. citizen was among the civilians who were killed.

At least 53 people have been brought to the morgue in the last 24 hours after being killed during heavy Russian air attacks and ground fire according to Chernihiv Governor Viacheslav Chaus.