President Volodymyr Zelenskyy provided the final data on the victims of the Russian missile attack on a high-rise block of flats in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Region.
"Today in the afternoon the rescue works in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Region, were completed after yesterday's missile attack by Russian terrorists. Nine people died. My condolences to the relatives and friends. Eighty-two people were injured. All of them are being treated. Among the injured are two children, both boys, one of them is in serious condition. His name is Mykyta, a sixth-grader; he is only 11. I hope for a quick recovery of everyone who suffered from this new Russian villainy," Zelenskyy said in a video message.
He noted that there were several missile strikes. The second happened already when the rescue operation was in progress.
"This is a deliberate terrorist decision to cause the biggest pain, the biggest damage. And Russia will bear maximum responsibility for this - no matter how the things are going, terrorists must be sentenced," the president stressed.
Zelenskyy also named those rescuers who worked in Pokrovsk.
"Today, I would like to pay attention to the participants of this rescue operation in Pokrovsk. Those who showed themselves to be the most active in helping people. These are senior lieutenants of the civil defence service Andriy Samusin and Oleksandr Shylo, colonel of the civil defence service Vyacheslav Filyushin. Employees of the National Police, Lt Oleksandr Chivenkov and Lt-Col Volodymyr Nikulin. I am especially grateful to all the doctors who work for people in Pokrovsk and other cities of Donetsk Region, and especially today I would like to thank a paramedic of the Myrnohrad ambulance, Kateryna Zheleznyak, and a surgeon of the Pokrovsk hospital, Ihor Klymov. Thank you! Thank you to everyone who saves people's lives and eliminates the consequences of Russian strikes," he said.
On 7 August, the Russians hit a residential building in Pokrovsk with missiles, killing at least five people, as was initially reported.