Ukraine war: Deadly Russian missile strikes restaurant in Kramatorsk, 8, including 3 children, killed

Ukrainian authorities reported that the death toll from a Russian missile strike in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk had risen to eight.

Kramatorsk was struck by two missile strikes on Tuesday, hitting a crowded restaurant in the city center.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said the bodies of eight people were recovered, adding that three children, two aged 15 and a 12-year-old, were among the dead. 

"Rescuers are working through the rubble of the destroyed building and searching for people who are probably still under it," officials of the emergency services said on the Telegram messaging app.

Zelenskyy sacks head of state arms company

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed the head of state-owned arms manufacturer Ukroboronprom, Yuriy Husyev, according to a decree published late Tuesday.

Husyev had held the position since December 2020.

Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported that Zelenskyy had expected Husyev to increase production of the short-range Sapsan ballistic missile system, but had so far fallen short.

This left Ukraine dependent on missiles supplied by its Western allies.

Ukrainian media reported that Husyev will be replaced by 31-year-old Herman Smetanin, who heads an armored vehicle plant in Kharkiv, but Zelenskyy's office has not confirmed this.

Russia 'brutally shelled' Kramatorsk, Zelenskyy says

During his evening address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned a Russian attack on the eastern city of Kramatorsk.

At least four people were killed in the attack on Tuesday, including one child, and more than 40 others were injured.

"Russian terrorists brutally shelled Kramatorsk," Zelenskyy said, while expressing his condolences to families and friends of the victims. 

"Assistance is being provided to all. The rubble is being cleared," the Ukrainian leader added. 

Zelenskyy also reiterated his call for a tribunal to be established for crimes committed by the Russian military.

"Each such manifestation of terror proves over and over again to us and to the whole world that Russia deserves only one thing as a result of everything it has done — defeat and a tribunal, fair and legal trials against all Russian murderers and terrorists," Zelenskyy said.