At least one civilian was killed and several others injured in a strike on Kramatorsk, an administrative center in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine and a potential target of the Russian offensive, AFP journalists have noted. .
The explosion left a large crater in a courtyard between a hotel and residential buildings.
Journalists saw the body of one person killed and injured, as well as two burning cars.
Several localities come under fire
“
Airstrike against the central part of Kramatorsk.
There are victims
, ”announced on Facebook the mayor of this city, Oleksandr Gontcharenko, calling on city dwellers to stay in shelters.
“
The danger has not yet passed
,” he added.
Earlier in the day, the governor of the Donetsk region reported at least seven civilians killed the day before in this territory, several localities having suffered artillery fire and multiple rocket launchers.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: the evacuation of Sloviansk continues, the Russians are gaining ground in Donbass
The Russians, who claim to have taken control of the entire neighboring Lugansk region, are now seeking to conquer Donetsk to thus occupy the entire Donbass mining basin, which Moscow-backed separatists have partially controlled since 2014. In the Donetsk region, the city of Sloviansk is seen as the next target for Russian forces in their plan to completely conquer the Donbass basin, after four and a half months of conflict.
