Russia denies striking train station in Kramatorsk

Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry denied claims coming from Kyiv that one of its missiles targeted a train station in Kramatorsk, a Ukrainian held Donbass city, according to Russia Today (RT).

At least 30 people were killed and more than 100 injured in the incident which occurred earlier Friday.

Immediately, Kyiv officials claimed the strike involved a Russian missile, either an Iskander or a Tochka U.

Also Read: At least 30 killed in attack on train station in eastern Ukraine

However, the Russian military stressed it had no operations planned for the Kramatorsk area for today, Friday, and called the accusations “a provocation that has absolutely no relation to reality.”

According to a spokesperson, images shared by witnesses show debris from a Tochka U missile, which is a weapon system that “only Ukrainian forces use.”

The spokesperson noted that a similar type of the missile hit the city of Donetsk on March 14. The attack, which Russia attributed to a Ukrainian missile unit, killed 17 people and injured 36 others, the statement added.

Ukrainian officials claimed that Russia attacked the train station deliberately to kill civilians preparing to evacuate. But, Moscow has insisted, from the start of its military operation in Ukraine, that it seeks to minimize casualties and only attack military targets as part of its stated goal of demilitarizing Ukraine.