A Russian missile strike hit a railway station in Chaplyne in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast this week, killing at least 25 people, including one child. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed the details of the strike in central/eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, describing how 50 people were also injured in the blast.
“Four passenger cars are burning, rescuers are working,” Zelenskyy said during a video link address to the United States Security Council on Wednesday. “But unfortunately, the number of dead may still increase. This is how we live every day. This is how Russia prepared for this meeting of the UN Security Council.”
The attack was not revealed by Ukrainian authorities before Zelenskyy addressed the UN Security Council, but further details were offered by local politicians who addressed the strike in Telegram posts.
Photographs of the strike were also shared on Telegram, showing burned-out vehicles besides several train cars that appear warped, twisted, and destroyed.
Reports revealed how two children were trapped beneath the rubble in the wake of the strike, and one eleven-year-old child was reported dead.
“Synelnykivskyi district. An 11-year-old child died as a result of rocket fire,” Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said in a Telegram post.
“There is no excuse for Russian murderers. There are simply no words.”
Comes Amidst Warning Of Increased Russian Strikes
The strike comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia would respond to the car bomb murder of Daria Dugina, the daughter of Putin adviser Professor Alexander Dugin with “vicious” strikes this week. Kyiv also expected Russia to ramp up attacks against civilian areas throughout Ukraine this week as the country celebrates its 31st anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union.
The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv also warned American citizens in the country this week to leave Ukraine as civilians face a heightened risk from Russian strikes in the country. A security alert from the embassy expressed concern that Russian forces will launch fresh offensives on Wednesday to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day.
“The Department of State has information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days,” the Embassy warned.
Follows Similar Strike Last Week
Whether this strike is part of a new offensive or just another scheduled strike is unclear. Less than a week ago, Russian forces also struck the Nikopol, Synelnykove, and Kryvyi Rih districts within Dnipropetrovsk.
Valentyn Reznichenko, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, revealed on Telegram how the strike killed a 36-year-old man.
M777 artillery like those being used in Ukraine.
“They fired Uragan MLRS on the community. Houses, a gas line, and a power line were damaged in the village of Pershe Travnia,” the Ukrainian official said.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
