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At least 50 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in a Russian missile strike on a railway station in eastern Ukraine in what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said was a deliberate attack on civilians.
Ukraine’s state railway company said two Russian rockets struck the station on April 8 in Kramatorsk, which was being used to evacuate civilians from areas that are expected to come under heavy attack as Moscow redirects its war efforts to focus on eastern areas where the separatists it has backed since 2014 have been fighting Ukrainian troops.
"Fifty dead, five of them children. This is the death toll at this hour after the strike by Russian occupational forces on the train station in Kramatorsk," said Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration.
Twelve of the victims died from their wounds in the hospital, while 38 were killed "on the spot," Kyrylenko said on Telegram.
He warned that the number of victims is likely to change, saying there are still 98 people wounded, including 16 children.
World leaders condemned the attack.
U.S. President Joe Biden reacted on Twitter, calling the attack "yet another horrific atrocity committed by Russia, striking civilians who were trying to evacuate and reach safety."
The French government called it a "crime against humanity," and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described it as "unconscionable."
"This is an evil that has no limits. And if it is not punished, it will never stop," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a statement.
Zelenskiy reported 300 people were injured, saying that no Ukrainian troops were at the station. In a video address to Finland's parliament, he said Europe cannot offer a “partial response” to Russia and its aggression “because freedom will not survive if we leave the channels of tyranny.”
Ukrainian officials, including Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, said at least four children were among the dead.
“The Russians are deliberately trying to disrupt the evacuation of civilians…. For them, people’s lives are just a bargaining chip and an instrument to achieve their cynical goal,” Kyrylenko said.
Kramatorsk Mayor Oleksandr Honcharenko said about 4,000 people were at the station at the time of the attack. He told an online briefing that some victims had lost legs or arms. Both the Kremlin and the Defense Ministry denied Russia was responsible for the attack.(RFE/RL's)
Ukraine’s state railway company said two Russian rockets struck the station on April 8 in Kramatorsk, which was being used to evacuate civilians from areas that are expected to come under heavy attack as Moscow redirects its war efforts to focus on eastern areas where the separatists it has backed since 2014 have been fighting Ukrainian troops.
"Fifty dead, five of them children. This is the death toll at this hour after the strike by Russian occupational forces on the train station in Kramatorsk," said Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration.
Twelve of the victims died from their wounds in the hospital, while 38 were killed "on the spot," Kyrylenko said on Telegram.
He warned that the number of victims is likely to change, saying there are still 98 people wounded, including 16 children.
World leaders condemned the attack.
U.S. President Joe Biden reacted on Twitter, calling the attack "yet another horrific atrocity committed by Russia, striking civilians who were trying to evacuate and reach safety."
The French government called it a "crime against humanity," and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described it as "unconscionable."
"This is an evil that has no limits. And if it is not punished, it will never stop," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a statement.
Zelenskiy reported 300 people were injured, saying that no Ukrainian troops were at the station. In a video address to Finland's parliament, he said Europe cannot offer a “partial response” to Russia and its aggression “because freedom will not survive if we leave the channels of tyranny.”
Ukrainian officials, including Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, said at least four children were among the dead.
“The Russians are deliberately trying to disrupt the evacuation of civilians…. For them, people’s lives are just a bargaining chip and an instrument to achieve their cynical goal,” Kyrylenko said.
Kramatorsk Mayor Oleksandr Honcharenko said about 4,000 people were at the station at the time of the attack. He told an online briefing that some victims had lost legs or arms. Both the Kremlin and the Defense Ministry denied Russia was responsible for the attack.(RFE/RL's)