Fifteen people have been killed in a Russian rocket attack on an apartment building in the town of Chasiv Jar and more than 30 people are believed to be trapped under the collapsed building, the Ukrainian rescue service reports according to Reuters.
Intensive rescue work is underway among the rubble. The death toll is feared to rise as many are still under the collapsed building.
However, the rescue service has been able to contact at least two people who are stuck under the landslides.
Several rockets hit the building
The attack is said to have taken place on Saturday night after Russian Uragan rockets hit the building, writes Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region on Telegram.
– We ran to the basement. There were three rockets that hit our building, the first in the kitchen and then I do not remember where the others hit but we just ran, says 64-year-old Lyudmila to Reuters.
– Then we hid in the basement all night until this morning, she continues.
Persistent shelling
Despite a decrease in Russian advance in recent days, artillery shelling in the Donetsk region has continued. Several civilian casualties have been reported in recent days from the cities of Kramatorsk and Slovyansk, which are the two largest in the region and are still controlled by Ukraine.
According to several experts, Tjasiv Jar, which has around 12,000 inhabitants, is expected to be the Russians’ next destination in Donetsk.