Ukraine war: Death toll rising on ‘horrifying’ Russian attack on railway station
- About 4,000 people, most of them elderly, women and children, were at the railway station when it was hit, mayor said
- ‘Horrifying to see Russia strike one of the main stations used by civilians evacuating the region where Moscow is stepping up its attack,’ EU chief said
Ukrainian officials are raising the death toll from a missile strike on a packed train station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk, as local hospitals buckled under an influx of injured victims.
An updated count showed 50 people were killed in Friday’s strike. Ukrainian officials had earlier put the figure at around 30. Officials put the number of injured up to as many as 300.
Kramatorsk Mayor Oleksandr Honcharenko told Ukrainian TV that between 30 and 40 surgeons were treating the wounded, and hospitals were unable to cope with the surge in admissions.
Earlier on Friday, EU Council chief Charles Michel slammed Russia for the “horrifying” attack, saying Moscow was cutting off an escape route for civilians.
“Horrifying to see Russia strike one of the main stations used by civilians evacuating the region where Russia is stepping up its attack,” Michel said on Twitter. “I strongly condemn this morning’s indiscriminate attack … by Russia”, EU foreign policy Josep Borrell said in a separate tweet.
Journalists on the scene saw at least 20 bodies of people grouped and lying under plastic sheets next to the station. Blood was pooling on the ground and packed bags were strewn outside the building in the immediate aftermath of the attack. A rescue worker said the station was being used for civilian evacuations.
About 4,000 people, most of them elderly, women and children, were at the railway station when it was hit, Honcharenko said.