The death toll from a Russian missile strike on a government building in the southern city of Mykolaiv this week has risen to 33, Ukraine’s emergency service said on Saturday.

The strike early on Tuesday left a gaping hole in the centre of the building and trapped many people under the rubble. The structure was one of several government buildings hit by Russian forces as they have taken aim at places seen as symbols of Ukrainian statehood.

Vitaly Kim, the governor of Mykolaiv, said on Tuesday morning at the site of the attack that dozens of people had managed to flee the building amid air raid sirens before it was hit. He said that Russian forces had struck after people had arrived for work.