The attack left four people dead and dozens injured. Among the dead were a 17-year-old girl and an 8-month-old baby, among the 42 injured, according to the Ukrainian Attorney General's Office.
“The epicenter of the explosion encompassed several apartment buildings, commercial establishments, vehicles, a post office and other buildings, where numerous windows were destroyed,” the attorney general said, adding that rescue teams were still searching for survivors.
Restaurants in the area that were attacked are popular with residents and military personnel alike; one such establishment is RIA Pizza, which regularly serves military personnel and the press.
A witness to the aftermath of the attack in the city of Kramatorsk said dozens of people were pulled from under the rubble. He told CNN it was unclear whether they were alive or dead.
A Ukrainian soldier assisting in the rescue told CNN that the victims he saw were “mostly young people, including soldiers and civilians; including children.”
The soldier added that a party was held at a restaurant in the area with 45 people attending before the attack.
A restaurant heavily damaged by a Russian missile in the center of Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine on June 27, 2023. Photo: Andriy Yermak/Telegram/Reuters.
The attack occurred at 7:30 p.m. local time, Pavlo Kyrylenko, Chief of the Donetsk Region Military Office, told Ukrainian state television.
According to Andriy Yermak, an adviser to President Zelensky's Office, the village of Bilenke near the city was also hit by another missile.
The attack comes at a potentially pivotal moment in the war in Ukraine, as Russia’s state security apparatus deals with the aftermath of a brief coup by the private military group Wagner, and the Kyiv government’s counteroffensive continues to advance.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the Kramatorsk attack as “an act of terrorism” in his evening address on Tuesday and has called for a court to be set up to try the crimes.
Mr. Zelensky also thanked US President Joe Biden for the $50 million security assistance package for Ukraine.
Nguyen Quang Minh (according to CNN)
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