Last Tuesday afternoon, RIA Pizza restaurant, in the center of the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, in the Donetsk region, was packed. It seemed to be just another night in one of the few establishments in operation in the town (a few kilometers from the front), regularly frequented by the military and locals, but also by volunteers and international journalists. However, a russian missile It impacted the premises and ended any loophole of normality. A second shell hit a village on the outskirts.
[Ocho muertos, entre ellos tres menores, en un ataque ruso contra una pizzería en Kramatorsk]
During the attack at least 10 people have died and more than 60 They have been injured, according to the latest information from the local authorities who – at noon on Wednesday – continue with the “search, rescue and removal of debris” operations. In the place, “there is no glass, windows or doors left; everything is destruction, fear and horror,” Valentyna, a 64-year-old neighbor, explained to the Reuters agency.
Among the victims are a minor under 17 years of age and two twin sisters 14-year-olds who have been identified by the Kramatorsk City Council. These are Yulia and Anna, both students at Kramatorsk primary school number 24. “They graduated from eighth grade and the 4th of September they should have celebrated their 15th anniversary, but a Russian missile stopped the beating of the hearts of two angels,” the local Department of Education reported in a statement in which it “expresses condolences” to the girls’ relatives.
Among the wounded are the Colombian writer Hector Abbotthe former High Commissioner for Peace of the Colombian presidency Sergio Jaramilloand also Colombian journalist catalina gomez. At the time of the bombardment, which Abad described during an interview with EFE as “an explosion that seemed to come from the bottom of the earth”, they were all having dinner with the renowned ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina.
Aged 37, Amelina won the Joseph Conrad literary laureate, but switched literature to documenting crimes against humanity when war broke out in February 2022. He is currently in critical condition after sustaining a severely fractured skull.
Russia denies targeting civilians
This is not the first time that Kramatorks has become the target of Russian attacks. In April last year, a bombing attack on the city’s train station killed 63 people, mostly civilians, who were trying to leave the city. As on that occasion, the Kremlin has denied that its Armed Forces have attacked “civilian targets”.
“The attacks are carried out against objects that in one way or another are related to military infrastructure” Ukrainian, said the spokesman for the Russian Presidency, Dmitri Peskov, in his daily press conference. Subsequently, the Russian Defense spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, has assured that the Russian forces had “destroyed a command post of the 56th motorized infantry brigade of the Ukrainian Army in Kramatorsk”.
