A Russian attack of two rockets on the Kramatorsk train station in eastern Ukraine has claimed at least 50 lives, of which five children, and left nearly 100 people wounded, Ukrainian officials say. According to Governor of Donetsk Oblast, Pavlo Kyrylenko, 98 injured people have been hospitalised.
The train station was crowded as thousands were trying to flee the region before an expected attack. According to the mayor of Kramatorsk, there were at least 4,000 people at the city’s railway station, mostly women, children and elderly people.
“Lacking the strength and courage to stand up to us on the battlefield, they are cynically destroying the civilian population,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. “This is an evil that has no limits. And if it is not punished, it will never stop.”
Local authorities in eastern Ukraine have been warning that Russia would intensify its attacks on the eastern Donbas region, and civilians have been urged to evacuate the area while it is still possible to do so.
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Further developments
The EU has approved the fifth set of sanctions for Russia, including a €4 billion coal embargo and an import ban on wood, vodka, and other products worth €10 billion.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and foreign policy chief Josep Borrell are currently in Ukraine to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the country’s capital.
Meanwhile, the Russian Kremlin has acknowledged ‘significant losses’ of troops while continuing with atrocities.
