Russian missiles have torn through apartment buildings in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, local officials said on Thursday, killing at least one person and burying families under rubble. It comes as the Kremlin’s forces continue to pound the fiercely contested area with long-range weapons.

They are just destroying the civilian population.” Russian forces have occupied much of Donetsk and Russia has said it intends to take over the whole region. The Ukrainian military said earlier on Thursday its air defence shot down 14 out of 20 drones in a Russian overnight strike.