Death toll rises to 7 after Russian missile attack on Ukrainian city's downtown area

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Kyiv: The death toll from Russian missile strikes that hit apartment blocks and other buildings in an eastern Ukrainian city has climbed to seven, with 67 injured, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said Tuesday. Two Russian missiles slammed into the downtown area of Pokrovsk, in the eastern Donetsk region that is partially occupied by Russia, on Monday evening, local authorities said.

The missiles, which hit within 40 minutes of each other, damaged nine- and five-story buildings, houses, a hotel, dining establishments, shops and administrative buildings, Donetsk Gov Pavlo Kyrylenko said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of trying to leave nothing but broken and scorched stones in eastern Ukraine.

Russian missiles, drones and artillery have repeatedly struck civilian areas in the war. The Kremlin says its forces target only military assets and claim other damage is caused by debris from Ukrainian air defence weapons. Neither side's claims can be independently verified. Meanwhile, an overnight attack on the town of Kruhliakivka, in the Kharkiv region, killed two people and injured nine others, Gov Oleh Syniehubov said, according to an AP report.

Ever since the Russian aggression in Ukraine broke out, hundreds of people were killed and thousands became homeless despite pleas from different parts of the world for the cessation of the conflict.