Dozens Killed As Missile Hit Crowded East Ukraine Train Station
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy Nees
KYIV (Worthy News) – Rockets hit a crowded train station in eastern Ukraine that was an evacuation point for civilians, killing dozens of people, Ukrainian authorities say. Moscow was quick to deny the military targeted Kramatorsk, a city in the eastern Donetsk region.
The reported killings of as many as 40 people and the wounding of dozens more come as Russian troops focus on eastern Ukraine and Ukrainian officials urged people to leave.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that thousands of people were at the train station when at least one missile struck. “This is an evil that has no limits,” he added in a statement.
The governor of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said the station was hit by “cluster munitions. Thousands of people have used Kramatorsk station in recent days to escape the east as Russia moves its military campaign on that part of the country, witnesses said.
Kramatorsk Mayor Oleksander Honcharenko said 40 people had died, including 10 children, after a “huge rocket” hit the city’s train station earlier.
“It happened at 10:30 am; at that time, we had about 4,000 people on the railway station, waiting for the first train,” he said.
RUSSIAN ROCKET
He added that he was sure it was a Russian rocket and that there were no Ukrainian military targets around the station where the missile hit.
It happened while Polish and more than 10,000 American forces began exercises on Polish territory in a warning to Russia that the U.S. is involved in protecting the eastern flank of the NATO military alliance.
The bloodshed at the station also overshadowed a meeting between President Zelensky with the European Union’s executive European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen in Kyiv, the capital.
Her visit comes amid mounting international pressure on Moscow, with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s daughters now being sanctioned by Britain. And British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for talks as both countries wanted to extend the pressure.
Britain’s government has apologized for delays in issuing Ukrainian refugee visas, underscoring differences with Brussels over its approach towards those fleeing the war.
Britain is no longer part of the EU after it left the bloc in its Brexit process.
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