Kramatorsk station strike on 8 April 2022 killed 57
A retrospective on the missile attack on a railway station used for civilian evacuation in eastern Ukraine, and the reaction that followed.
What did it mean to wait for an evacuation train in eastern Ukraine on 8 April 2022? For civilians at the railway station in Kramatorsk, it meant gathering at a site used to get people out of the area. That day, Russian forces struck the station with a missile.
Officials reported that 57 people were killed and 109 wounded. Many European officials condemned the attack. Russia's Ministry of Defence denied carrying it out.
The days before
The strike came amid a series of reports about harm to civilians. On 6 April 2022, Pope Francis condemned the massacre in Bucha during his weekly audience at the Vatican. He called for the war to stop, for weapons to fall silent and for the sowing of death and destruction to end.
On 7 April 2022, Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Luhansk Oblast, reported that all hospitals in the province had been completely destroyed by Russian forces. Russia denied the claim and accused Ukraine of destroying its own hospitals.
A station as a lifeline
The Kramatorsk attack stood out because of where it happened: a transport hub that served as an evacuation point. The casualty figures given by officials and the denial from Moscow framed the immediate argument over responsibility, while European condemnation followed the same day.
