Russia steps up attacks on civilians, drawing condemnation

Ukrainian authorities on Friday accused Russia of carrying out a strike on a train station in the city of Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine, an attack that killed dozens of civilians and sparked widespread international condemnation.

Ukrainian officials said that dozens were killed and more than 100 injured in a rocket attack that hit the train station, which was being used for assisting civilian evacuations. The head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko, put the death toll at 50, including five children.

The Biden administration condemned the attack Friday afternoon.

“We are horrified by this latest atrocity, but we can no longer be surprised by the Kremlin’s repugnant disregard for human life,” State Department deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter told reporters. 

Porter said that such actions “reinforce the US assessment that members of Russia’s forces are committing war crimes in Ukraine.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the U.S. would support efforts to investigate whether the attack was an intentional effort by Russia to target civilians, which she said would represent a war crime.

The State Department has already judged other Russian attacks on targets in Ukraine to be war crimes. A Holocaust memorial site, a theater where civilians were sheltering, a children’s hospital and a mosque are reportedly among the sites struck during Moscow’s invasion.

“This is yet another horrific atrocity committed by Russia, striking civilians who are trying to evacuate and reach safety,” Psaki said. “We’re going to support efforts to investigate this attack as we document Russians actions, hold them accountable.”

Graphic photos and footage shared on social media following the strike on the train station showed civilians lying on the ground near strewn bags and personal belongings, blood on the ground and some infrastructure damaged — developments that come as Russia continues to experience difficulties in its invasion into Ukraine and after a Kremlin spokesperson acknowledged this week that its forces had suffered “significant losses of troops.”

“Russian non-humans do not leave their methods. Not having the strength and courage to confront us on the battlefield, they are cynically destroying the civilian population. This is evil that knows no bounds. And if it is not punished it will never stop,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement, condemning the tragedy in Kramatorsk.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba claimed that Russian forces knew the train station was full of civilians waiting to flee. 

Dmytro Gurin, a Ukrainian member of parliament, told The Hill in an interview Friday afternoon that the attack on civilians at the train station was deliberate.  

“Of course it’s intentional,” Gurin said. 

Gurin said that at least 50 people were killed in the attack and that the number injured was unclear.  

The attack came just a day after the United Nations General Assembly, prompted by outrage over atrocities allegedly committed by Moscow in places such as Bucha, voted to suspend Russia from the organization’s Human Rights Council. Ninety-three countries voted for the move, while 24 countries, including Russia, voted against it. There were also 58 abstentions.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who visited Bucha on Friday, called the attack on the Kramatorsk train station “despicable” and said she was “appalled by the loss of life,” while European Council President Charles Michel said it was “horrifying.”

Michel called for more sanctions against Russia, noting a fifth round of European Union sanctions had been approved. He also called for supplying Ukraine with more weapons. 

White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said in an interview with CNN earlier Friday morning that the U.S. was doing everything possible to provide Ukraine with security assistance to “push back against Russian aggression.”

On Friday, President Biden announced that the U.S. would backfill Slovakia with an American Patriot missile system after the country transferred a Soviet-era S-300 air defense system to Ukraine following pleas from Zelensky.

Earlier this week, the Pentagon confirmed that Russian forces were regrouping to Belarus and Russia, completely withdrawing from the Chernihiv and Kyiv regions, as Moscow remains unsuccessful in capturing the Ukrainian capital.

Though acknowledging that Russian troops have experienced significant losses, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed in an interview published on Thursday with Sky News that withdrawing from both areas was a “goodwill act” by Moscow.

“It was a goodwill act to lift tension from those regions and show Russia is really ready to create comfortable conditions to continue negotiations,” he told the British broadcaster.

However, U.S. officials have warned that Russia is repositioning troops to focus its attacks on eastern and southern Ukraine.  

Gurin agreed that Russian forces had withdrawn from Kyiv because they were unable to capture the city and said they would focus instead on the south and east. 

“They are regrouping and they are trying to make the second attempt, but they have really very low morale in the army,” he said.  

Laura Kelly contributed to this report

— Updated at 4:31 p.m.