Twin Russian strikes on Ukrainian city kill civilians, then hit rescuers, official says

A deadly Russian attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk appeared to be designed to specifically target rescue workers and first responders, Ukrainian officials alleged Tuesday, a potential war crime.

Five civilians, an emergency worker and a service member were killed, said Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of Donetsk Regional Military Administration.

The bombardment began at 7:15 p.m. local time on Monday (12.15 p.m. ET), said Serhii Dobriak, a local military leader, when a short-range ballistic missile hit what President Volodymyr Zelensky called an "ordinary residential building" in the eastern Ukrainian city's center.

First responders arrived on the scene to treat the wounded and dig people out from under the rubble, only to be targeted themselves. The second missile struck a nearby popular hotel, though it had been empty for five weeks, according to Dobriak.

"Half of the building is gone, so it's good that no one was inside," he said.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said its forces had hit a command post, but Dobriak said there were no military targets near the city.

"This is just terror," he told CNN by phone. "This does not intimidate us, but people are dying and suffering."