More Civilians Flee East Ukraine after Kramatorsk Train Station Attack

A day after a missile strike killed at least 52 people at a train station where others were waiting to flee the increasingly vulnerable region before an expected Russian invasion, civilian evacuations resumed in parts of battle-scarred eastern Ukraine, Global News reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy requested a forceful global response to Friday's train station bombing in Kramatorsk, calling it the latest example of Russian forces committing war crimes and trying to galvanise Western allies to step up their response to assist his nation in defending itself.

"Every attempt will be made around the world to determine who did what, who gave what orders, where the missile came from, who carried it, who issued the command, and how this strike was agreed upon," ,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address, his voice rising in anger.

Russia denied responsibility and accused Ukraine's military of shooting on the station in an attempt to shift blame for civilian deaths to Moscow. To reinforce the argument, a Russian Defense Ministry spokeswoman outlined the missile's course as well as Ukrainian army positions. Western specialists and Ukrainian authorities both insisted that the missile was launched by Russia.

Residents in Ukraine's contested Donbas area, where Russia has refocused its forces after failing to take over the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, might evacuate through other train stations on Saturday, according to the country's official railway corporation.

"The railways do not halt the duty of transporting everyone to safety," according to a statement posted on the messaging app Telegram.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk stated on Saturday that 10 evacuation lanes were planned in the eastern provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, which compose the Donbas, as well as nearby Zaporizhzhia.

Ukrainian authorities have urged citizens to flee ahead of a stepped-up onslaught by Russian military. Russian naval forces launched cruise missiles Saturday to bolster ground operations in eastern Ukraine, including the port cities of Mykolaiv and Mariupol, according to the UK Defense Ministry.

Photos obtained after Friday's missile strike showed corpses draped in tarpaulins and the remains of a rocket emblazoned with the Russian phrases "For the children." The phrasing seemed to suggest the missile was sent to avenge the loss or subjugation of children, although its exact meaning remained unclear.