First modification:
It was one of the first attacks on civilians of this magnitude in memory in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. More than 160 people were injured by the missile that ripped through the Kramatorsk train station, where thousands of Ukrainian citizens were waiting to board trains for evacuation.
The memory looms over the city of Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine, this April 8. A year ago, the population knew the worst tragedy in its recent history: a Russian missile fell on its train station, where civilians were waiting to be evacuated, killing 61 people.
This Saturday, several citizens left flowers at a small memorial in the same station, which is a communication point in the region. In addition to the 61 fatalities, more than 160 people were also injured in what was one of the first major attacks on civilians of the war, which at the time was still shocking and recent.
“What can be said? My friend, her daughter and her dog died. What else can be said?” Tetiana Syshchenko, a 67-year-old woman, asked AFP reporters.
She herself admits that she narrowly escaped the explosion.
A small flow of residents approached the plaque commemorating the victims throughout the day. Silence reigned among the attendees.
On April 8, 2022, some 4,000 civilians had gathered to board the evacuation trains when a Tochka-U missile hit the station. One of the fragments of the missile had the following inscription: “For our children.”
The inscription was allegedly made by the Russian troops who dropped the bomb, even though the Kremlin has denied responsibility for the attack.
Sergiy Kupochka, a 57-year-old municipal worker, recalled for AFP how, that same April 8, he had gone to distribute food and water to citizens about to be evacuated at the station. “One of our workers died,” he laments. He assures that, a year later, he “still feels pain.”
The war lives on in Bakhmut
Less than 50 kilometers from the city today in mourning, the war is still alive in Bakhmut, where Ukrainian and Russian troops have been fighting for control of the territory for weeks. The Ukrainian General Staff stated that the fighting is “fierce” and that the Moscow Army “continues its offensive actions” to “take full control of the city.”
The visions of both sides of the victory in this town are different. A Ukrainian military analyst, Dmitriy Segeyev, assured today on the Freedom television channel that kyiv’s forces still control 40% of the territory.
However, from the Russian side, it is reported that soldiers in Moscow have almost completely cut off the supply lines for the Ukrainians.
With EFE and AFP
