By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) — At least seven people were killed and 67 injured in a Russian nighttime missile strike on a city in Ukraine's eastern region of Donetsk, local authorities said early on Tuesday.
"The tragedy in Pokrovsk: information about the victims as of 7:00 a.m (0400GMT). Seven people died. 67 were injured, including 29 police officers, seven rescuers and two children," Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in a statement on Telegram.
Authorities had to halt demolition work in the area due to the high threat of repeated shelling, but were later able to continue, Klymenko added.
The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said in a later statement on Telegram that fires covering a total area of 75 square meters (807 sq feet) at a residential building and hotel had been put out, and that there were no people under the rubble, according to preliminary information.
"Emergency and rescue work is being carried out in a five-story residential building," the statement also said.
Separately, Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko claimed on Telegram that the strikes on Pokrovsk city were conducted with Iskander missiles, saying that the attack damaged private homes, high-rise buildings, a hotel, and an administrative building.
In an earlier statement late Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said rescuers and all necessary services are on the scene of the attacks.
"We have to stop the Russian terror. Everyone who fights for the freedom of Ukraine saves lives. Everyone in the world who helps Ukraine will defeat the terrorists together with us. Russia will be held accountable for everything it has done in this terrible war," Zelenskyy said.
Russian authorities have not yet commented on the attack, and independent verification of Ukraine's claim is difficult due to the ongoing war.
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which started in February 2022, has killed over 9,300 civilians and wounded more than 16,600, according to the latest UN figures.