He said two rockets hit a station in the town of Kramatorsk, which was used to evacuate civilians from areas bombed by Russian forces. “Two rockets hit the Kramatorsk railway station,” the Ukrainian Railways said in a statement. He later added: “According to operational figures, more than 30 people were killed and more than 100 were injured in the rocket attack on Kramatorsk train station.” Burned vehicles are seen after a rocket attack on the train station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk, in the Donbas region of Ukraine, on Friday. (Hervé Bar / AFP / Getty Images)
Reuters could not verify the information. The Russian Defense Ministry denied that Russian forces carried out the rocket attack. Moscow has denied targeting civilians since invading Ukraine on February 24. Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region, said thousands of people were at the station when the rockets landed. The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a train station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk following a rocket attack on Friday. (Hervé Bar / AFP / Getty Images)
“The ‘racists’ (‘Russian fascists’) knew very well where they were aiming and what they wanted: they wanted to sow panic and fear, they wanted to take as many civilians as possible,” he said. Kyrylenko posted a photo on the internet showing many corpses on the ground next to piles of suitcases and other luggage. Armed police officers wearing jackets stood next to them. Another photo shows rescue workers dealing with what appeared to be a fire, with a gray smoke rising into the air. Families arrive to board a train at Kramatorsk Central Station as they leave the eastern city of Kramatorsk in this April 4 photo. (Fadel Senna / AFP / Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said no Ukrainian army was at a train station at the time of the attack. Zelenski told the Finnish parliament that the attack took place “at an ordinary train station, at ordinary people; there were no soldiers there”. Three trains carrying displaced people were blocked in the same area of ​​Ukraine on Thursday after an air raid on the line, according to the head of the Ukrainian Railways. Ukrainian officials say Russian forces have regrouped for a new offensive and that Moscow plans to occupy as much territory as possible in the eastern part of Ukraine known as Donbass, which borders Russia. Local authorities in some areas are urging citizens to leave as far as possible and relatively safely to do so.