Dozens were killed and about 100 were injured in a Russian missile attack on Kramatorsk station on Friday, one of the easternmost stations still operating in Ukraine, Ukrainian authorities said. The station was used to evacuate civilians from the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine. At least five children were killed in the attack, according to the local governor.
NOTE: This article contains disturbing images of killed and wounded victims in Kramatorsk.
“They lack the strength and courage to stand up to us on the battlefield,” [the Russians] they are cynically destroying the civilian population, “said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.” This is an evil that has no borders. And if he is not punished, he will never stop. “
Ukrainian servicemen carry sacrifice to be placed next to other victims after bombing of railway station in eastern city of Kramatorsk, Donbass region, April 8, 2022. Herve Bar / AFP / Getty
About 4,000 people, mostly women and children, were at the station during the attack, Kramatorsk mayor said. Graphic images shared on social media appear to show a number of victims in civilian clothes. At least 52 people have been killed, Ukrainian officials said, according to the Associated Press.
“This is a deliberate blow to the passenger infrastructure of the railway and the residents of Kramatorsk,” wrote on social media the head of the country’s national railway Alexander Kamishin.
Ukrainian police are inspecting the remains of a large Russian-language rocket for children near the main building at a train station in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, which was used to evacuate civilians and was hit by a rocket attack, killing at least 35 people. on April 8, 2022. Fadel Senna / AFP / Getty
Ukrainian security forces were spotted inspecting the wreckage of a missile against the station after the attack. On the side of the rocket body was the phrase “for children” written in Russian. The specific Russian phrase has a meaning closer to “on behalf of children” or “in revenge for attacking children” than “aimed at children”.
Russia has denied carrying out the attack, blaming Ukraine’s own forces.
“All statements by representatives of the Kiev nationalist regime about the ‘missile attack’ carried out by Russia on April 8 at the Kramatorsk railway station are a provocation and an absolute untruth,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Ukrainian servicemen check for signs of life among the victims lying on the platform after a rocket attack on the railway station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk, in the Donbass region on April 8, 2022. ANATOLIY STEPANOV / AFP via Getty Images
Authorities warn that Russia will withdraw its troops from other parts of Ukraine and intensify its attacks on the eastern region of Donbass, and civilians are rushing to evacuate the area.
“We’re going to get a lot of strength to concentrate down there,” Nick Reynolds, a research analyst on land warfare at the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank for defense and security, told CBS News.
The speed with which the West can send military aid to Ukraine will make a big difference in the country’s ability to sustain a further Russian offensive from the east.
“We are a little embarrassed at the moment when we support Ukraine, because a lot of things that are quite easy to transfer and easy to put in the field, these stocks have decreased,” Reynolds said.
Larger systems that would be useful to Ukraine, such as the S-300, are more difficult to transport and will take time to arrive at the front.
“To some extent, this month will decide a lot. The battle for Mariupol will significantly shape the political situation: what is possible and what is not possible for Ukrainians, for the international community and for Russia,” Reynolds told CBS. News. He said that if the Russians succeed in capturing the southeastern city of Mariupol, their strategic goals will become much more viable.
“But it’s also very important to the international community,” Reynolds said. “Because we don’t really have any options for de-escalation – no politically or morally acceptable options for de-escalation with Russia or a return to any kind of even partial normalization of relations in a negotiated agreement – if Russia controls large such settlements.”
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Hailey Ott is a digital reporter / producer for CBS News based in London.
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