"Peaceful people were killed and buried under rubble," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "This is the daily reality in our country." AFP reporters saw two bodies recovered from the rubble. Rescue workers searched the rubble for survivors and possible other victims.

Kramatorsk is located in the Donetsk region. This has been fiercely contested for months, and taking it completely is one of Russia's key war goals in Ukraine. The Donetsk and Luhansk regions together form the Donbass region, which has been partially occupied by pro-Russian separatists since 2014. The Donbass is of great economic importance because of its raw materials and industry.