On the morning of April 8, 2022, Russian troops launched a missile attack on the Kramatorsk railway station. This terrorist strike by the Russian armed forces was directed against civilians who were evacuating through the city of Kramatorsk that day.
Since February 24, 2022, from the very beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, the Kramatorsk railway station has served as a major transit point for the evacuation of residents of Donetsk and Luhansk regions who were trying to save their lives. Thanks to the joint efforts of state authorities, local governments, businesses, and volunteers, between February 26 and April 7, 2022, 201,557 people were evacuated through organized efforts, 110,620 of whom departed from the Kramatorsk railway station.
At the time of the attack, there were about 4,000 people at the station—mostly women, children, and the elderly—who were trying to escape the fighting. A ballistic missile exploded high above the station at 10:28 a.m., scattering dozens of submunitions. They fell to the ground and exploded, killing and wounding dozens of people waiting at the station. According to the SBU, at least 61 people were killed and over 120 were wounded as a result of the strike. Among the dead were 7 children. The missile that killed them bore the cynical inscription “For the Children”—a cynical testament to the disregard for human life.
Law enforcement agencies have opened a criminal investigation into the attack. The terrorists’ actions are classified under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—violation of the laws and customs of war.
Today we honor the memory of the victims, share the pain of their families, and once again emphasize: no crime against the civilian population must go unpunished. We remember every life cut short by the war, and we continue the fight for the future.