Russian air strike on Kramatorsk kills several, injures four
A Russian air strike hit a residential block in Kramatorsk on Wednesday, injuring four and destroying a stairwell; rescuers found human remains.
A Russian air strike hit a residential area of Kramatorsk, in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, on Wednesday, killing an unspecified number of people and injuring four, Ukrainska Pravda and Hromadske reported. Rescue teams were still working at the scene hours later, at an apartment block in the city, which lies near Ukraine's eastern front line.
The attack destroyed the entrance and stairwell of one high-rise building from the first floor to the ninth, both outlets reported. Five further multi-storey apartment blocks nearby were also damaged by the strike, bringing the total number of buildings hit to six, according to Hromadske. Censor.net's report on the strike included video and photographs showing emergency crews working amid the rubble of the collapsed stairwell.
Rescuers combing through the rubble found fragments of human remains during the emergency operation and passed them to National Police officers for identification, Ukrainska Pravda and Censor.net reported. Officials have not given a final death toll; confirmation of the number of dead is pending that identification process. Four people were confirmed injured in the strike, the two Ukrainian outlets said.
The strike also started fires in the surrounding area. Ukrainska Pravda reported a fire at a shop, while Hromadske said fires broke out in shops and in the private housing sector, where four houses and their garages burned. Firefighters extinguished the blazes, Hromadske said, as emergency crews continued clearing debris from the destroyed stairwell elsewhere in the city.
Describing the scale of the damage, Ukrainska Pravda said Russian forces are relentlessly destroying Kramatorsk, calling Wednesday's strike on the residential block another in a series of air raids on the city's housing.
What we know
- A Russian air strike hit a residential area of Kramatorsk on Wednesday, killing an unspecified number of people and injuring four, Ukrainska Pravda and Hromadske reported.
- Rescuers found human remains while clearing debris and passed them to police for identification.
- The strike destroyed the stairwell of one apartment block from the first to the ninth floor; five more buildings were damaged.
- Fires broke out in a shop and four private houses and garages; firefighters extinguished them.
Not yet confirmed
- The exact number of people killed has not yet been given by officials.
Why it matters for Europe
Kramatorsk is one of the largest Ukrainian-held cities in Donetsk region and sits close to the front line, which has made it a frequent target of Russian air strikes on homes and other civilian buildings. Wednesday's raid damaged six apartment blocks in all and set fire to shops and houses in the surrounding district, adding to the toll on a city whose residents have faced repeated attacks on housing throughout the war, with no sign of the bombardment easing.
Sources
Reported by 3 reports from 3 independent outlets in 1 countries.
Source balance
PremiumSee how the 3 outlets behind this story spread from left to right, and which are official or OSINT sources.
Free during the launch: create an account →Log inHow we rate sources
Intelligence file
PremiumSee how we verified this story
Confidence and impact scores, the full situation report and the event timeline.
Launch offer: free for members until 31 October 2026
Questions and answers
- Where did the Russian air strike hit on Wednesday?
- The strike hit a residential area of Kramatorsk, in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, Ukrainska Pravda and Hromadske reported.
- How many casualties were reported?
- Four people were injured and an unspecified number killed; rescuers found human remains while clearing debris, officials said.
- What damage did the strike cause?
- It destroyed the stairwell of one apartment block from the first to the ninth floor, damaged five more buildings, and set fire to a shop and four private houses and garages.
This article was written with AI assistance from 3 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.