27 June 2023 , 19:21
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Two sisters aged just 14 are among 10 people killed after a Russian missile strike hit a restaurant in Ukraine, Kyiv officials have said.
At least 61 are injured, while it's feared more casualties are trapped in the rubble and debris following the attack in Kramatorsk.
It's understood the popular Ria Lounge restaurant was hit, which was "packed" with volunteers, soldiers and journalists at the time of the attack.
"Everyone sitting in that restaurant knew, somehow, at some point, something is going to happen because if [the] Russians are smart enough they will bomb this place," Belgian reporter Arnaud De Decker told the BBC.
Rescuers search the debris after the attack (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)"It was packed with volunteers and soldiers and journalists."
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Two sisters, both aged 14, died as result of the attack. Prosecutor general Andrii Kostin said: "Russian missiles stopped the beating of the hearts of two angels.”
The other child victim was 17.
Security agencies are assisting emergency services with a major rescue operation underway, and victims being evacuated.
The eastern city remains under Ukrainian control but is close to parts of the Donetsk region under Russian rule.
"Just half an hour ago, two missiles struck the city of Kramatorsk," regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukrainian television on Tuesday evening.
Arnaud continued: "I saw dead people, people screaming, people crying, huge chaos. And there are still people underneath the rubble because it's a big restaurant."
About 80 people were at the food outlet at the time (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)The attack also damaged 18 multi-storey buildings, 65 houses, a number of schools, a shopping centre, an administrative building and a recreational building.
The strike, and others elsewhere across Ukraine, indicated that the Kremlin is not easing its aerial onslaught despite turmoil caused by an armed uprising last weekend.
Ukrainian National Police said Iskander short-range ballistic missiles were used.
Kramatorsk is a frontline city that houses the Ukrainian army's regional headquarters.
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Ukraine's defence ministry shared footage showing the devastation and shows a distressed mother looking for her missing daughter, who she said worked in the restaurant that was hit.
The local council said invading forces have also struck in a nearby village.
The city has been targeted for shelling several times since Vladimir Putin launched his invasion last February, including at a train station in May 2022 which resulted in more than 50 deaths.
Children are said to be among the casualtiesUkraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska also condemned the attack.
"Crowded place, evening - enemy do not want normal life in Ukraine," she wrote on Twitter.
"There are a lot of wounded. It is painful."
Prior to the missile attack, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine's counter-offensive was advancing on all fronts.