Video: Chaos As Rockets Slam Into Soup Kitchen

Dramatic video has emerged of the moment a soup kitchen was hit by Ukrainian military rockets.

The attack came as people were assessing the damage from an earlier strike, and shows them desperately scrambling for cover under tables.

In footage filmed by freelance journalist Patrick Lancaster , two women rush to take shelter in Pervomaisk, 43 miles (70km) from Luhansk.

The town has recently been bombarded by rocket attacks as Ukraine tries to drive out pro-Russian separatists.

Through her tears, one woman asks: "Why is this happening again? When will all this end ?"

Her friend tells her repeatedly to be quiet.

The old lady then says "those sons of bitches" and trails off into tears.

A man off-camera shouts "get into the cellar" and the women run across the courtyard and into a makeshift bomb shelter inside a school.

There were reportedly no casualties during the shelling.

Fighting in the Ukraine has escalated in recent weeks as rebels launch a fresh offensive.

Nine Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 26 wounded in the last 24 hours, according to the Ukraine government.

Spokesman Vyacheslav Seleznyov said forces had come under attack from the rebels on about 100 separate occasions.

US President Barack Obama, who is considering sending weapons to help Kiev's troops, warned Russia it cannot redraw Ukraine's borders behind the "barrel of a gun" on Monday.

Speaking alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, he said diplomacy was still key but said sending "lethal defensive weapons" to Ukraine was an option.

Russia denies sending troops to the country and arming rebels who have taken control of large areas of the east.