Of . – 04/08/2022 11:22 (act 04/08/2022 11:22)
People are said to have died in an attack on the Kramatorsk train station. The image shows a Kramatorsk train station on April 4. ©APA/AFP/FADEL SENNA (image of the symbol)
Dozens of people were killed and injured in a rocket attack on Ukraine’s Kramatorsk railway station, officials said.
There are 30 dead and 100 injured, railway chief Olexander Kamischyn said on Friday. The spokeswoman for the Ukrainian administrative region of Donetsk, Tetiana Ihnatenko, spoke of 27 dead, including two children, and at least 30 wounded. Thousands in Kramatorsk were waiting to be evacuated, according to Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.
Attack on Kramatorsk Railway Station
Kramatorsk is located in the part of the contested Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine, which is controlled by Ukraine. Pro-Russian separatists claim the entire administrative area. People who brought suitcases and bags wanted to leave the city for fear of being attacked.
According to the railway chief, Kamishyn, two rockets were hit. The Ukrainian side blamed Russian troops. Kyrylenko accused Russia of intentionally targeting civilians. “They wanted to take as many peaceful people as possible hostages, they wanted to destroy everything Ukrainian,” he wrote on Telegram.
Separatists: Evacuation was underway in Kramatorsk
On the other hand, pro-Russian separatists in the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk spoke of a Ukrainian rocket attack. Parts of a Totschka-U rocket fell to the ground. The separatists also announced that an evacuation had just taken place in Kramatorsk, people were to be taken to a safe place.
The Ukrainian leadership had previously asked people in eastern Ukraine to stay safe and leave the area to the west if possible. Russia had announced that it would focus its attacks on the region.
Russia: 81 military objects bombed
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said air and missile forces bombed 81 military targets. For comparison: on Thursday, the military reported the bombing of 29 objects.
Among the targets hit are the Ukrainian army command and bases, as well as artillery pieces and several rocket launchers in Donbass, Konashenkov said in a video released by the ministry on Friday. “Russian air defenses shot down two Ukrainian Mi-8 and Mi-24 combat helicopters near the village of Staraya Zbruyevka,” he said. In addition, the Russian fleet destroyed a collection and training camp for “foreign mercenaries” near Odessa.
Authorities: Ukraine regained control of Sumy region
According to the authorities, Ukrainian troops have now regained control of the entire Sumy region, on the Russian border. “The area is free of orcs,” regional governor Dmytro Schwyzkyj said on Friday. He used a Ukrainian expletive for Russian soldiers. The governor warned residents who fled against a quick return: “The region is not safe. Many areas are mined and have not yet been deforested,” he explained.
The town of Sumy, 350 kilometers east of Kiev, originally with a population of 250,000, and the surrounding region saw intense fighting between Russian attackers and Ukrainian forces for weeks.