Seven people are missing following huge explosions overnight in the Russian-occupied town of Nova Kakhovka, according to authorities there.
The town, in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, was rocked by explosions Monday night — possibly the largest in a Russian-occupied part of Ukraine since the invasion began in late February. At least six people were killed, Russian state news agency TASS reported earlier on Tuesday.
TASS quoted the head of the town's civil-military administration, Vladimir Leontiev, as saying the strike "led to an explosion in warehouses with mineral fertilizers. There are victims, the market, hospital and houses are damaged."
"The infrastructure of the city was very seriously damaged. More than 70 civilians were injured," Leontev said on state run channel Russia-24.
"We still have to figure out how large the scale of the disaster is caused by the HIMARS [US long-range artillery] delivered to Ukraine."
"Seven people are missing, they are most likely [lost] under the rubble. We don't have accurate information at the moment. I think that the number will increase later because the extent of the destruction is simply enormous," Leontev said
Leontev claimed the attack was "launched from afar on the civilian population. This is no military target. It's warehouses, stores, pharmacies, gas stations."
"Windows flew out within a radius of 2 kilometers (1.2 miles)," Leontev said. Early Tuesday, TASS said fires continued to burn in the warehouses.
Another official in the Russian-backed administration, Ekaterina Gubareva, said Ukraine fired using American High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).
Ukraine's counteroffensive: Ukraine has begun targeting Russian command posts and ammunition dumps far behind the front lines in both Kherson and Donbas, using newly supplied Western weaponry that has a much greater range than its previous artillery systems.
The Ukrainian military has given few details about the strike.
"According to the results of firing missions by our missile and artillery units, the enemy lost 52 personnel, a 'Msta-B' howitzer, a mortar, seven units of armored and automotive vehicles, as well as a warehouse with ammunition in Nova Kakhovka, Kherson region," the Operational Command South said on Monday.
Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the name of the Russian state-run channel. It is Russia-24.