Russia-Ukraine War Update: Scores Feared Dead In Kramatorsk Railway Station Strike
Scores of people, including children, were killed Friday after two rockets hit a railway station in Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region as thousands tried to evacuate the area, Ukrainian officials said.
“This is an evil that has no limits. And if it is not punished, it will never stop,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said following the attack, which Donetsk’s governor said had also left nearly 100 people injured. NBC News was unable to independently verify the strikes or the reported death toll and injuries.
Fifty people died in the attack, Zelenskyy said in a video address later Friday.
Russia has denied carrying out the attack, with the country’s defense ministry calling Ukraine’s accusations a “provocation.” Moscow has consistently denied targeting civilians in its attacks on Russia.
“Obviously, we are not buying the denial by the Russians that they weren’t responsible,” a senior U.S. Defense official said at a briefing Friday. “I would note that they originally claimed a successful strike, and then only retracted it when there were reports of civilian casualties.”
Also Friday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv and said the European Union will propose an additional 500 million euros in support of Ukraine’s armed forces. She also pledged to accelerate Ukraine’s application to join to EU.