Ukraine urges civilians to leave as rail attack toll increases

Ukraine has urged inhabitants in the eastern Luhansk area to flee Russian bombardment after officials say more than 50 people were killed in a missile attack while attempting to flee by train from a neighbouring province.

Air raid sirens were heard across most of eastern Ukraine on Saturday morning, according to officials, as Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai encouraged citizens to flee as Russia gathered forces for an invasion.

Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called for a “strong worldwide response” to the missile strike on a train station in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, on Friday, which was crowded with women, children, and the elderly.

At least 52 people killed, according to the local mayor, who claimed that 4,000 people were present at the time.

Russia’s defence ministry denied culpability for the attack, stating in a statement that the missiles that damaged the station were solely fired by Ukrainian forces and that Russia’s armed forces had no targets in Kramatorsk on Friday.

It claimed that all statements made by Ukrainian officials in response to the incident were “provocations.”

On February 24, Russia began a military operation against Ukraine. Over 4.3 million people have migrated to neighbouring nations from Ukraine.

According to the United Nations, at least 1,600 civilians have killed so far, with the figure certain to rise.

The number of Russian casualties has been difficult to determine. Since the start of the war, more than 19,000 Russian servicemen have been killed, according to Ukrainian officials.

On March 25, Russia’s defence minister announced that 1,351 of its servicemen had been killed in combat, with 3,825 more wounded.

Experts warn that both parties’ estimates can’t be trusted since Kyiv is likely to inflate them to enhance soldier morale, while Russia is likely to downplay them.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, admitted on Thursday that Russia has suffered “major losses” in Ukraine, describing the situation as a “great tragedy” for the country.

Moscow claims to be carrying out a “special military operation” to demilitarise and “denazify” Russia’s southern neighbour.