Russian strike kills 25 on Ukraine’s Independence Day, including children
- The deadly attack on a railway station came six months into Moscow’s invasion; Russia said it targeted a military train, killed 200+ reservists
- Celebrations of anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from Soviet rule were muted amid warnings Russia could attack urban centres
The death toll from a Russian strike on a railway station in central Ukraine rose to 25 overnight, the state rail operator said on Thursday, while Russia said it targeted a military train and claimed to have killed more than 200 Ukrainian reservists.
The strike hit a station in the town of Chaplyne in the region of Dnipropetrovsk, some 145km (90 miles) west of Russian-occupied Donetsk, on Wednesday.
“As of this morning, we have 25 dead, including two children, and 31 people injured, including two children,” Ukrainian Railways said on Telegram.
The death toll in the town of about 3,500 residents rose from an initially reported 22 after three more bodies were retrieved from the rubble, said Ukrainian presidential aide Kyrylo Tymoshenko. He did not say if all of the dead were civilians.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said Thursday that its forces used a missile to strike a military train carrying Ukrainian troops and equipment to the front line in eastern Ukraine. The ministry claimed more than 200 reservists “were destroyed on their way to the combat zone”.