These images show Ukrainian emergency service workers survivors in the rubble after Russian missiles hit Kramatorsk.
The footage shows rescue workers sifting through piles of debris at night, with one woman being lifted out on a stretcher.
Cranes can be seen lifting debris while rescuers use hydraulic equipment to lift blocks of concrete.
The toll currently stands at nine people dead including three children, with 56 people injured including a baby. Seven people have been pulled from the rubble.
This is according to the State Emergency Service (SES) of Ukraine, which said in a statement earlier today, “As of 10:am on 28th June, the bodies of 9 dead people (including 3 children) were recovered from the rubble, 56 people were injured (including 1 child, born in 2022) and 7 people were rescued.
“Search and rescue operations and debris removal are ongoing.
“Dog handlers and psychologists of the State Emergency Service also work on site.”
Rescuers are continuing to search for survivors in the debris. A 17-year-old girl was reportedly killed in the attack which happened yesterday evening at 7:30pm local time.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 490th day of the full-scale war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 28th June 2023, Russia had lost about 227,100 personnel, 4,036 tanks, 7,847 armoured combat vehicles, 4,089 artillery units, 627 multiple launch rocket systems, 387 air defence systems, 314 warplanes, 308 helicopters, 3,499 drones, 1,261 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 6,774 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 563 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that the Alliance is ready to defend itself from both Belarus and Russia after calls from member countries bordering them asked the Alliance to strengthen its eastern defences.
Stoltenberg said that it was “too early to make any final judgment about the consequences” regarding Wagner mercenary organisation Yevgeny Prigozhin moving to Belarus.
But he added that “what is absolutely clear is that we have sent a clear message to Moscow and to Minsk that NATO is there to protect every ally and every inch of NATO territory.”
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda said on Tuesday: “We see what is happening, the relocation of Russian forces in the form of the Wagner group to Belarus, and the head of the Wagner group going there, those are all very negative signals for us which we want to raise strongly with our allies.”
Prigozhin reportedly flew into exile in Belarus on his private jet on Tuesday, with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko saying: “Yes, indeed, he is in Belarus today.”
Moscow has announced plans for the Wagner organisation to begin disarming, handing over weapons, vehicles and equipment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the mercenary organisation had been entirely financed by the Russian state to the tune of USD 1 billion between May 2022 of May 2023.
Putin told members of Russia’s security forces on Tuesday that they had prevented “a civil war”.
He added: “The people and the army were not on the side of the mutineers.”
A Russian missile strike has hit a number of buildings in the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, with nine people reported dead at the time of writing including three children.
At least 56 other people were injured in the Russian strike, according to the Ukrainian emergency services.
The United Nations Human Rights Office said on Tuesday that Russian forces have carried out the widespread and systematic torture of civilians who have been detained in connection with Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
