By Max Hunder
KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (Reuters) -Two Russian missiles struck a restaurant in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on Tuesday, killing at least three people, a senior official said, and emergency services combed through the shattered building in search of casualties.
Andriy Yermak, head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s administration, said on Telegram that 25 people were injured, including a child.
Emergency services scurried in and out of the shattered restaurant as residents stood outside surveying the damage from the strike, which occurred just before 8 p.m. local time.
Police and soldiers emerged from the building, reduced to a twisted web of metal beams, carrying a stretcher bearing a man in military trousers and boots. He was placed in an ambulance, though it was not certain whether he was still alive.
Two men screamed in frenzied tones for a tow rope, then ran back towards the rubble.
“I ran here after the explosion because I rented a cafe here … Everything has been blown out there,” Valentyna, 64, told Reuters. “None of the glass, windows or doors are left. All I see is destruction, fear and horror. This is the 21st century.”
Kramatorsk is a major city west of the front lines in Donetsk province and a likely key objective in any Russian advance to move westward to capture all of the region.
The city has been a frequent target of Russian attacks, including a strike on the town’s railway station in April 2022 that killed 63 people.
Russia denies targeting civilian sites in what it has described as a “special military operation” since invading its neighbour in February 2022.
(Writing by Ron Popeski, editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Leslie Adler and Mark Heinrich)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibilty for its content.