Kramatorsk railway station was seen after Friday’s attack. (Fadel Senna/AFP)
The military governor of Ukraine’s eastern Lugansk region said evacuation corridors for civilians would be “adjusted” after a Russian missile attack on Kramatorsk railway station on Friday.
Speaking on national television, Serhii Haidai said: “Unfortunately, after yesterday’s Kramatorsk disaster, our evacuation routes are being adjusted, but we are ready, we will continue to evacuate people.”
Haidai said shelling continued across the region.
“All settlements are being shelled,” he said. “The most difficult areas are Rubizhne, Popasna and the municipality of Hirske. The municipality of Hirske is constantly shelled from morning to evening, the enemy has not stopped at all, they are being shelled with all kinds of weapons, and also with planes. Fighting continues in Popasna and Rubizhne.”
On Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk announced on Telegram that 10 evacuation corridors have been agreed.
In the Donetsk region, she said, there will be a corridor from Mariupol to Zaporizhia for private vehicles.
In the Zaporizhia region, Vereshchuk said four corridors from Berdyansk, Tokmak, Enerhodar and Melitopol to Zaporizhia would be opened to private vehicles and buses.
In the Luhansk region, Vereshchuk named five corridors after Bakhmut, which came from Severodonetsk, Lysyhansk, Popasna, Rubizhne and the village of Hirske.
Some background: At least 50 people, including five children, were killed and nearly 100 injured in a Russian missile attack on a train station used as an evacuation hub in the eastern city of Kramatorsk on Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strike was “another war crime by Russia, for which all those involved will be held accountable”.
Kramatorsk is a key railway evacuation point for civilians fleeing heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have also warned that Russia is preparing a major offensive in the eastern Donbass region.
CNN’s Christiane Amanpour and Jo Shelley contributed to this post.