(KRAMATORSK, DONETSK OBLAST) – At least 33 people have been killed in a Russian glide bomb attack on two civilian buses in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, according to local authorities.
Pictures released by local authorities show the burnt out metal shell of a bus with debris strewn across the road. A further 18 people were wounded in the attack, said Donetsk regional head Vadym Filashkin, who accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians and flouting every conceivable rule of warfare. He ordered public transport in Kramatorsk and the nearby city of Sloviansk to be suspended, saying the security situation had deteriorated.
Three people were also killed in the village of Bilenke, part of the Kramatorsk community. In the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, three people are reported to have been killed in two separate strikes.
Kramatorsk and neighbouring Sloviansk form part of a so-called fortress belt that Moscow is attempting to seize as part of the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s claim to the entire Ukrainian industrial region of Donbas. The region is a key logistical hub for Ukrainian forces, and Russia has been targeting the area to cut off supplies supporting troops on the front line.
The attack came as UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband joined President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a visit to the town of Pylypovychi in northern Ukraine, a day after a Russian missile struck an apartment block, killing some 22 people, including children. Speaking alongside President Zelenskyy next to the destroyed building, Miliband announced fresh sanctions on Russia.
“I know how hard it is for your people. I know how hard it is for you,” Miliband said. “But I want the very clear message today to be sent. We are with you as long as it takes because your security is Europe’s security. Your security is Britain’s security. And you are fighting for freedom, for democracy, and frankly the right of people to live a normal life.”
President Zelenskyy thanked the UK for its support but stressed the urgent need for more air defence systems. “We are thankful for the support but we need so many defence,” he said. “Of course on our side our production scales, but it is not enough because we can’t wait, just people, just civilians. You see the face of Putin is the result of attack. So we can’t just wait when Ukrainian production will produce all the air defence what our big country needs.”
A correspondent in Kyiv, Abduljalil Abdurasulov, said the guided bombs used in the Kramatorsk attack appear to have been deliberately targeted at civilians. “Those guided bombs can’t be controlled and this is not the first time when Russia launches attacks on civilian facilities in Kramatorsk and in other places,” he said. “They have hit medical facilities, residential buildings and other places.”
He noted that according to the United Nations, civilian casualties this year have already exceeded the number recorded last year. “So these are not isolated incidents. This is a systematic approach,” he said.
The footage was released by local authorities. The incident occurred in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast.
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