At least 50 people have been killed in a Russian missile attack on the Kramatorsk train station, Ukraine said

At least 50 people were killed and around 100 wounded in a Russian missile attack on Kramatorsk train station, one of the easternmost still operational train stations, on Friday Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said. The station was used to evacuate civilians from the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine. At least five children were killed in the attack, according to the local governor.

A NOTICE: This article contains disturbing images of victims killed and injured in Kramatorsk.

“I lack the strength and courage to stand up to us on the battlefield, [the Russians] are cynically destroying the civilian population,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “It is an evil that knows no bounds. And if it’s not punished, it will never stop.”

Around 4,000 people, mostly women and children, were at the station at the time of the attack, the mayor of Kramatorsk said. Graphic images shared on social media appeared to show a number of victims in civilian clothes.

“This is a targeted strike against the railway’s passenger infrastructure and the residents of Kramatorsk,” wrote the head of the country’s national railway Alexander Kamyshin on social media.

Ukrainian security forces were seen inspecting the remains of a missile opposite the train station after the attack. On the side of the rocket carcass was written “for children” in Russian. The specific Russian expression has a meaning more like “on behalf of children” or “in retaliation for an attack on children” than “directed against children”.

Russia denied carrying out the attack, blaming Ukrainian forces for it.

“All statements made by representatives of the nationalist Kiev regime about the ‘missile attack’ allegedly carried out by Russia on March 8.

Officer have warned that Russia would intensify its attacks on Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region and civilians rushed to evacuate the area.