A Russian missile attack on residential buildings in Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine, has killed at least seven people.

During the search for victims of the first missile, a second missile struck the town.

Police officers and rescuers were among the injured. More than 30 civilians were injured, including two children.

Rescue efforts are ongoing.

The city of Pokrovsk is located approximately 70 kilometers (43 miles) north-west of Donetsk city, which is occupied by Russian forces. It had a population of around 60,000 before the war.

Donetsk region head Pavlo Krylenko said the first strike killed five civilians, and the second strike killed an emergency official. Military personnel also lost their lives.

The buildings that were “destroyed and damaged” included “high-rise buildings, private houses, administrative buildings, catering establishments, and hotels”.

In a Telegram post, he added, “Russia is a terrorist state. She must be punished.”.

Other Ukrainian officials said the second missile struck forty minutes after the first, killing and wounding rescuers as they searched for survivors in the ruins of what Mr Zelensky described as an “ordinary residential building”.

In a video, he shows a five-story building with its top floor destroyed.

Rescuers helped people into ambulances amid scenes of general chaos and confusion.

A day after the strikes, Russia claimed to have struck a Ukrainian military command post in Pokrovsk as well. In response to Tuesday’s reported strike, Ukraine did not comment.

Reuters reported that Kateryna, a resident injured in the first attack, was at home when the missile struck.

As the flame filled my eyes, I fell to the ground. My eyes hurt a lot, but I’m okay, only the shrapnel in my neck hurts.”

In the Kharkiv Region, two civilians were also killed when Russian guided bombs hit “private houses” on Monday night, according to Ukraine’s Presidential Office head, Andriy Yermak.

Those strikes injured five people, he said.

Two people were killed in a Russian “guided bomb” attack on a blood transfusion center in north-eastern Ukraine a day earlier.

Since launching a counter-offensive two months ago, Ukraine has made modest gains in regaining territory occupied by Russia.

As Mr Zelensky told an Argentine newspaper La Nacion on Sunday, Ukraine must find another way to end its blockade of Russian ships in the Black Sea.

Ukraine will do the same if Russia continues to dominate its territory in the Black Sea and blockade and fire missiles at it, which is good for our chances,” he said.

The Russian government withdrawn from a deal allowing Ukrainian grain exports and warned ships in the Black Sea they could face military action. Ukraine responded in kind.

In the Black Sea last week, a Russian tanker with 11 crew members was struck by what Moscow claimed was a Ukrainian attack. According to a source in the Ukrainian security service, Ukraine did not make any public comments on the issue.