Zelensky on Kramatorsk attack: Everyone involved will be held responsible

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his nightly address, Friday, said everyone involved in the missile strike on the Kramatorsk train station is to be held responsible. 

He said, “This is another war crime of Russia, for which everyone involved will be held accountable”, adding that Russian state propaganda attempted to blame the assault on Ukrainian troops. 

Zelensky further said, “We expect a firm, global response to this war crime”, adding, “Like the massacres in Bucha, as well as many other Russian war crimes, the missile strike on Kramatorsk must be one of the charges at the tribunal, which is bound to happen”. 

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The president also confirmed in earlier reports from the head of the military administration of the Donetsk region that the attack killed at least 50 people, which includes five children. 

He also went on to speak of how “all the efforts of the world” would be directed to establish a minute-by-minute account of “who did what, who gave orders, where did the rocket come from, who was carrying it, who gave the order and how the strike was coordinated”, concluding, “Responsibility is inevitable”. 

There have been reports that the missile had “for the children” written on the side, raising further concerns about Russia’s growing atrocities in the bordering country. However, Moscow has long maintained that Russian children in Donbas had to live through Ukrainian shelling for many years. 

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Since President Vladimir Putin sent in troops on February 24, Russia has been accused of war crimes for targeting civilians. While shelling in cities like Mariupol initially raised these cries, the discovery of mass graves in Bucha, near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, has further solidified global outrage at Moscow. Russia has since been suspended from the Human Rights Council at the United Nations and Putin’s daughters have been sanctioned as well.