---
title: "Russian missile destroys Ukrainian apartment building; at least 3 dead"
description: "KRAMATORSK, Ukraine, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Rescuers combed debris in a city in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, where an overnight Russian missile strike destroyed an apartment building and damaged nine others, killing at least three people."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Ukraine war"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-02-02-russian-missile-destroys-ukrainian-apartment-building-at-least-3-dead/"
published: "2023-02-02T13:45:34"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 346
---

# Russian missile destroys Ukrainian apartment building; at least 3 dead

> KRAMATORSK, Ukraine, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Rescuers combed debris in a city in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, where an overnight Russian missile strike destroyed an apartment building and damaged nine others, killing at least three people.

By Reuters · Published 2 February 2023, 15:45 SAST

## Key points
- Tragedy struck the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk last night when an Iskander-K tactical missile hit 10 apartment buildings, partially collapsing one. Search and rescue teams were still at work to find survivors in the rubble, with a total of 19 people reported dead and 18 wounded. Residents had fled or taken shelter in cellars to avoid this tragedy, which comes two weeks after a similar attack on an apartment block in Dnipro killed 44 people. President Zelenskiy condemned the attack as 'evil' and called for military action against Russia, who have denied responsibility. The US is expected to supply Ukraine with longer-range rockets as soon as this week. This is not the first time Kramatorsk has been targeted - 57 people died in April last year when a Russian missile hit a train station.
- At 9.45 pm local time, an Iskander-K tactical missile hit ten apartment buildings in the city of Kramatorsk, Ukraine.
- Search and rescue work is still underway, with 18 people wounded and three dead.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has condemned the attack as 'absolute evil' and called for military action against Russia.
- Washington is expected to provide long-range rockets to Ukraine this week.

## Content

The police force said the apartments in the city of Kramatorsk were hit by an Iskander-K tactical missile at 9.45 pm local time (1945 GMT). Earlier reports had described it as an attack with a rocket.

"Ten apartment buildings were damaged, one partially collapsed. Search and rescue work, which continued all night, is still under way," police said in a statement.

The dead include a husband and wife and a 61-year-old pensioner, whose daughter was still believed to be missing. Eighteen people were also wounded.

The city is close to the front line in eastern Ukraine and many residents have fled or regularly hide in cellars, which may have saved lives compared to similar attacks elsewhere. A missile strike on an apartment block in the central city of Dnipro two weeks ago killed at least [44 people.](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3422JD&linkedFromStory=true)

"This is not a replay of the past, it is the daily reality of our country - a country with absolute evil on its borders," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram messaging app.

Rescuers were digging through heaping mounds of debris at the site, where exasperated residents sorted through scattered personal belongings.

Apartment interiors were visible amid the blasted-out walls from the neighbouring building.

"This is the centre of the city. Only civilians live here, which is why any attempts to justify this are futile at the very least," regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Reuters at the scene.

Moscow has denies intentionally targeting civilians.

In a separate tweet early on Thursday, Zelenskiy wrote: "The only way to stop Russian terrorism is to defeat it. By tanks. Fighter jets. Long-range missiles."

Ukraine, which last week secured promises of battle tanks, wants allies to supply fighters and missiles. Washington is expected to include longer-range rockets in its next package of arms as soon as this week.

Last April, Ukraine said [57 people died](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2W80FQ&linkedFromStory=true) when a Russian missile hit the train station in Kramatorsk. Moscow denied responsibility, saying the missile was Ukrainian.

By Vitalii Hnidyi

(Reporting by David Ljunggren, Ron Popeski and Vitalii HnidyiEditing by Peter Graff)