A restaurant and shopping area were hit in Tuesday’s strike on the city, which is under Ukrainian control but close to Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People may be trapped under the rubble and a rescue operation is under way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An eyewitness told the BBC he saw “dead people, people screaming, people crying, huge chaos”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 17-year-old girl is reported to be among those who were killed in the attack, which happened at around 19:30 local time (16:30 GMT).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were also apartment buildings at the epicentre of the explosion, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Social media and drone footage from the scene show significant damage to the buildings, some of which have been reduced to rubble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Belgian freelance journalist Arnaud De Decker told BBC Newshour he was at the popular Ria Lounge restaurant just minutes before it was hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“There’s still people underneath the rubble because it’s a big restaurant,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Now I can hear people screaming underneath the rubble as rescuers are trying to save them.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He estimated up to 80 staff members and customers were on the restaurant premises at the time of the strike, so feared the casualty number could be “severe”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officials say at least 40 people were injured, including an eight-month-old baby and three foreigners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A rescue operation is currently under way in the city centre, with security agencies assisting emergency services at the scene and evacuating victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Local authorities say the area had a high concentration of civilians when the missiles hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This is the city centre. These were public eating places crowded with civilians,” regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukrainian television.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr De Decker described the restaurant as a local “gathering hub” that was also popular with soldiers, journalists and volunteers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russian forces also targeted a nearby village, Kramatorsk city council said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack proved to Ukraine and the world that Russia deserved “only defeat and a tribunal, just and lawful courts against all Russian murderers and terrorists”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The White House condemned Russia for its “brutal strikes” on Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kramatorsk has often been targeted by missiles since the start of the invasion in February 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The city of 150,000 people is one of the largest still under Ukrainian control in the besieged east. It lies about 30km (18 miles) from the frontline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In April of last year more than 60 people died in Kramatorsk following a missile strike on the city’s railway station.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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