According to official sources, at least six people were killed when a Russian missile hit a residential area in the city of Sloviansk in eastern Ukraine. In addition, there were 18 wounded, said the police of the Donetsk region.

Children are also among the victims. The death toll could still rise. The rescue work is not yet complete. Military governor Pavlo Kyrylenko also reported the destruction of several high-rise buildings. The information could not initially be verified by an independent party.

More than a year after the start of the Russian war of aggression against the neighboring country, the fiercest fighting is raging in Donetsk. The fighting is currently particularly heavy in the town of Bakhmut, south-east of Sloviansk. For months, Russian troops have been trying to take the city, which once had 70,000 inhabitants, in extremely costly battles. Only a few thousand people live there today.