Three killed, 8 wounded by strike on restaurant in Donetsk: official

A missile strike Saturday on a restaurant in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, killed three people and wounded eight, the head of the region's Russian-backed administration wrote on Telegram.

"As a result of a direct strike on the Paradise restaurant in Donetsk's Kirov district, three civilians were killed: a woman who worked at the restaurant and two diners," Denis Pushilin said.

"Currently we know of eight injured", Pushilin said, naming these as a girl, three women and four men, adding that their injuries were minor to moderately severe.

Pushilin said that there were two strikes by US HIMARS precision rocket launchers, which hit the restaurant and damaged the roof of a partially-constructed building nearby.

Images posted on social media showing smoke rising from the partially destroyed building after the explosion.

Russia's RIA Novosti posted a video of the Investigative Committee working at the scene, examining shrapnel.

The restaurant's facade was partially torn off, while tables and chairs were thrown around by the force of the blast and interior walls were peppered with holes from shrapnel, it showed.