Seven people have died and 67 have been injured after Russia fired missiles at the city centre of the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine.
The footage shows Ukrainian rescue workers sifting through rubble in a desperate bid to find survivors after civilian homes were hit by the Russian missiles.
Rescue workers and civilians can be seen tending to the wounded and loading people into ambulances.
The images show partially destroyed buildings in the centre of the city, with fires still burning as firefighters and rescue workers deal with the aftermath of the Russian attack.
The images were obtained from the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Monday, 7th August, along with a statement saying (in English): “The city of Pokrovsk, Donetsk region. Donbas, from which Russia is trying to leave only broken and scorched stones. Two missile strikes. An ordinary residential building was hit. Unfortunately, there are victims. Rescuers and all necessary services are on the scene. The rescue of people continues.
“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.”
Ukraine’s interior Minister, Ihor Klymenko, had said on Monday that two Russian missile strikes have killed five people and injured 31 after hitting residential buildings in the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
He added that four civilians died in the first attack and a Donetsk emergency official was killed during the second attack.
Klymenko said that search and rescue operations are ongoing.
But in an update this morning, on Tuesday, 8th August, Pavlo Kyrylenko, the Ukrainian Governor of Donetsk, said that this number had increased, saying: “Seven people died, 67 were injured – this is the number of victims of the tragedy in Pokrovsk as of 07:00 on 8th August.
“Among the dead – five civilians, one employee of the State Emergency Service, one – military.
“Among the injured are 29 civilians (including two children born in 2006 and 2012), 29 police officers, seven employees of the State Emergency Service and two military personnel.
“Let me remind you: the Russians hit the centre of Pokrovsk yesterday evening.
“Two strikes were carried out by ‘Iskanders’ – at 19:15 and 19:52. We went to the city centre. Destroyed and damaged high-rise buildings, private houses, administrative buildings, catering establishments, a hotel.
“Russia is a terrorist state. And she must be punished for her crimes!”
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 531st day of the full-scale war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 8th August 2023, Russia had lost about 250,800 personnel, 4,254 tanks, 8,278 armoured combat vehicles, 4,996 artillery units, 709 multiple launch rocket systems, 468 air defence systems, 315 warplanes, 312 helicopters, 4,158 drones, 1,377 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 7,460 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 737 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has said that it has foiled a plot to assassinate the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, after arresting a woman suspected of gathering intelligence regarding his movements.
The SBU said that the woman was gathering information about Zelensky’s visit to the Mykolaiv region in southern Ukraine, where Russia was planning a major air assault.
The Ukrainian Governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Serhiy Lysak, has said that a man aged 36 was killed and a 68-year-old man was injured in Russian attacks on the city of Nikopol.
He said: “The aggressor has been terrorising Nikopol since the morning. It is pounding the city with heavy artillery.”
Lysak also said that homes, farm buildings and cars had been damaged, adding that there was also damage to gas pipelines and power lines.
Ukraine said on Monday that it was “very satisfied” with a summit held in Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, over the weekend, in a bid to find a peace settlement to the ongoing conflict.
China’s Foreign Ministry has said that the talks in Saudi Arabia have helped “consolidate international consensus”.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry added that Li Hui, China’s special envoy for Eurasian affairs, “had extensive contact and communication with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis” and that he “listened to all sides’ opinions and proposals, and further consolidated international consensus.”
The ministry added in a statement that China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov by phone on Monday.
Wang reportedly told his Russian counterpart that China would uphold an impartial and independent position and actively promote peace talks while striving to find a political settlement to the conflict.
Poland has accused Belarus and Russia of being behind another migration influx into the European Union via the Polish border in a bid to destabilise the region.
Polish border guards have asked the Polish Ministry of Defence to send a further 1,000 troops to the country’s border with Belarus.
Russia claimed on Monday that its troops had advanced three kilometres on the front in Kupiansk over the last three days in a bid to retake territory it had lost in Ukraine.
