Ukrainian officials said that dozens were killed and more than 100 injured in a Russian rocket attack that hit a train station in the city of Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine. The station was being used for assisting civilian evacuations.
The head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko, put the death toll at 50, including five children.
Washington’s response: The Biden administration condemned the attack Friday afternoon.
“We are horrified by this latest atrocity, but we can no longer be surprised by the Kremlin’s repugnant disregard for human life,” State Department deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter told reporters.
Porter said that such actions “reinforce the US assessment that members of Russia’s forces are committing war crimes in Ukraine.”
The Pentagon’s view: The Pentagon, meanwhile, finds Russian claims that it was not involved in the strike “unconvincing.”
“Our assessment is that this was a Russian strike and that they used a short-range ballistic missile to conduct it,” press secretary John Kirby told reporters later Friday. “It is again of a piece of Russian brutality in the prosecution of this war and their carelessness for trying to avoid civilian harm.”
Devastating images: Graphic photos and footage shared on social media following the strike on the train station showed civilians lying on the ground near strewn bags and personal belongings, blood on the ground and some infrastructure damaged.
The developments come as Russia continues to experience difficulties in its invasion of Ukraine and after a Kremlin spokesperson acknowledged this week that its forces had suffered “significant losses of troops.”
“Russian non-humans do not leave their methods. Not having the strength and courage to confront us on the battlefield, they are cynically destroying the civilian population. This is evil that knows no bounds. And if it is not punished it will never stop,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement, condemning the tragedy in Kramatorsk.
The EU’s response: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the attack on the Kramatorsk train station “despicable” and said she was “appalled by the loss of life,” while European Council President Charles Michel said it was “horrifying.”
Michel called for more sanctions against Russia, noting a fifth round of European Union sanctions had been approved. He also called for supplying Ukraine with more weapons.
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