KRAMATORSK, Ukraine -- Flames consumed a housing block in Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine following a nighttime strike by Russian forces on the night of August 13-14.
Video by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service showed fire crews battling the blaze, which rose through several stories of the residential building after what was reported to be a guided aerial bomb made a direct hit.
"It hit the second entrance of our building. I don't know what happened to our apartment -- whether it burned down or not. The neighboring apartment was buried under the rubble, and ours is on the other side," a resident told RFE/RL.
One person was killed and 15 injured in eight attacks which also hit the nearby village of Bilenke, according to Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration.
"All responsible services are working on the ground. We are providing assistance to the victims and establishing the final consequences of the shelling," Filashkin wrote on social media and called on residents of the Donetsk region to evacuate to safer regions of Ukraine.
Kramatorsk is less than 20 kilometers from the front line and has been repeatedly struck by Russian attacks since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. The number of Russian drones flying over Kramatorsk and nearby Slovyansk surged in July, as Russian ground forces slowly advanced in the area.
Kramatorsk and Slovyansk are the biggest cities in the portion of the Donetsk region that Ukraine still holds, and that Russia is seeking to seize.
President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have indicated that full control over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, together known as the Donbas, is one of Moscow's main goals and one of its preconditions for starting peace talks.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov repeated Moscow's refusal to hold talks with the front lines frozen in place, saying in a state television interview on August 14 that stopping "at the line of contact" is "simply out of the question."
Elsewhere, a 29-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son were killed by a Russian drone strike in Sumy, northern Ukraine, according to regional administration chief Oleh Hryhorov. The attack also targeted a private residential building.
According to Hryhorov, four more people were injured, including the boy's father and grandmother, who are in the hospital with severe burns.
Overall, the Russian military attacked Ukraine with 112 strike drones, the Ukrainian Air Force reported. It said 90 had been shot down. The attacks were reported at 11 locations across Ukraine.
Ukrainian drones also hit targets in Russia.
A fire broke out in the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga, a key center for oil exports that bankroll the Kremlin's war effort. Ukrainian forces have repeatedly struck the port as part of Kyiv's ongoing air campaign against Russia’s oil industry.
In another overnight strike, Ukrainian drones caused a fire at a Wildberries warehouse in the Tver region. Ukrainian forces began targeting the online retailer in July. Ukraine has accused it of distributing military supplies, including selling dual-use goods such as body armor and surveillance technology.
In the interview on Russian state television, Lavrov accused the United States of providing strong support for Ukrainian strikes on Russia.
"We have submitted a series of questions to the State Department requesting comment, including on the matter of intelligence data and the fact that the US is far more deeply involved in organizing and executing strikes deep within Russian territory," he said without providing evidence.
There was no immediate US comment.
