The Russian shelling of a train station in central Ukraine killed at least 22 people on Wednesday. The attack on Chaplyne railway station happened on a day when Ukraine marked its 31st Independence Day.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 50 people were wounded in the attack. The strike marked the completion of six months of the Ukraine war, which Russia started on February 24.
'Chaplyne is our Pain Today'
Ukrainian authorities said some bodies have been recovered and the rescue operation is going on. Chaplyne is a small town of about 3,500 in the central Dnipropetrovsk region. SZelensky's office said one of the dead was an 11-year-old child.
"Chaplyne is our pain today. It's almost night, our main day, Independence Day of Ukraine, is coming to an end. But our independence does not end and will never end," Zelenskyy said in a video address to the nation.
The Russian attack on Kramatorsk station in the eastern Donbas region in April had killed more than 50 people.
Though Russia carried out strikes in multiple regions across Ukraine on its Independence Day, the attack on the train station was the most damaging. Russian bombardments were reported in the country's east, west and center, the Associated Press reported. People in Kyiv woke up to air raid sirens but no rocket attack was reported in the capital city.
Increasing Tension
The Russian offensive comes amid increasing fears that Moscow is intent on stepping up the attack. The killing of the daughter of a prominent ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin in broad daylight near Moscow has infuriated the Kremlin.
Russia has officially accused Ukraine of assassinating Kremlin insider Alexander Dugin's daughter Darya Dugina in a car bombing in Moscow. There have been speculations that Dugin, who is known for pushing ultra nationalist causes in the Kremlin, was the actual target of the attack.
Russia's Federal Security Service said on Monday that Ukraine's secret services were responsible for the killing of Darya. Russian news agencies cited FSB officials saying that a Ukrainian woman born in 1979 was the one who carried out the attack on Darya. The Russian secret service also named the alleged killer, while her picture was published on Russian news websites, Reuters reported.
Another Car Bomb
The alleged assassin was later identified in the local media as Natalia Vovk, who was reportedly assigned by Ukraine's secret services. According to Tass, Natalia planted the bomb in the car Darya was driving. The car was owned by Dugin but was being driven by his daughter. Dugin too was supposed to be traveling in that car but hopped into another one at the last moment, which saved him from getting killed.
Another major flash point this week was the killing of a Russia-appointed official in Southeastern Ukraine in another car bomb blast in Mykhailivka town. The explosion ripped apart the car in which the top regional official Ivan Sushko was travelling.
Vladimir Rogov, a member of Zaporizhzhia's Russian-appointed administration, claimed that an explosive device was placed under the seat of Sushko's car.
Meanwhile Ukraine's Independence Day was marked by western leaders announcing more support to Kyiv's war. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson flew into Kyiv to offer support to Zelensky, while US President Joe Biden announced $3 billion in fresh aid to Ukraine.
