In the shadow of the horrors left on the outskirts of Kiev by the hasty withdrawal of Moscow's soldiers, another massacre takes place in Ukraine. A Russian attack on the Kramatorsk railway station, a city and railway junction in the Donetsk region, has caused hundreds of injuries and at least 50 deaths (including 5 children) among the thousands of refugees waiting to be evacuated. Another shade that will make any negotiation even more difficult than it already was. And the end of the conflict is more elusive.
Kramatorsk station attack: yellow on the missile
After the attack, a rebound of accusations was unleashed between the Russians and the Ukrainians, as has often happened during these 45 days of war. On the missile reads the inscription, in Russian, “for children“, denounces the Ukrainian television Ukraine 24 on Telegram, publishing a video in which the missile is seen, partially destroyed, with the white writing in Cyrillic. At the moment, however, it is not possible to establish who wrote the sentence on the rocket. The Ukrainian authorities, but also Josep Borrell - head of foreign policy of the European Union - have attributed the paternity of the attack and the consequent massacre to the Russians. Instead, the authorities of the autonomous republic of Donbass deny having carried out the attack.
After the bombing, the Kramatorsk station in the Donetsk region was closed. The population fleeing eastern Ukraine will be evacuated in the next few hours from Slovyansk, a city in the eastern part of the country. This was announced by the Ukrzaliznytsia railway company, which organizes the evacuations of civilians. The trains are expected to leave for Lviv, Chernivtsi, Ternopil and Odessa, a statement read.
For days Russia had announced that, after the retreat from the capital, it would concentrate its efforts on the real objectives of the Russian offensive: Mariupol and the region of Donbass. The attack on Kramatorsk would be the concrete signal of this change of strategy.
Moscow denies: "We didn't do it"
Moscow's Defense Ministry has denied that the Russian army bombed the Kramatorsk station, speaking of a "provocation" by the Ukrainians, reports Tass. Missile fragments appearing in a video near Kramatorsk station belong to a Tochka-U carrier, "used only by Ukrainian forces," Russia's defense ministry said, dismissing allegations by Kiev authorities, the agency said. Interface. Also according to the Russian Defense Ministry, the attack was carried out by a Ukrainian missile battalion from the locality of Dobropolye. The aim, adds the ministry, was "to prevent civilians from leaving" to be used as "human shields" by the Ukrainian army.
Von der Leyen and Borrell in Kiev
“Here in Bucha we have seen humanity in pieces. The whole world mourns with the people of Bucha who are defending the borders of Europe and of democracy”, thus the number one of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen commented on the massacres in the suburbs of Kiev. “The unthinkable happened here. We have seen the cruel face of Putin's army, the recklessness and ruthlessness of those who occupied the city”. While the missile attack on the station used to evacuate civilians, Von Der Leyen called it "despicable". “I am devastated and will personally offer my condolences to President Zelensky. My thoughts go out to the families of the victims,” the president of the EU Commission wrote in a tweet.
