Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed revenge after at least 25 people were left dead and several more were injured after a Russian attack on a train station in eastern Ukraine on the country's Independence Day, according to an updated death toll late Wednesday.
Several Russian rockets hit the train station in the small town of Chaplyne in the eastern part of the country, with at least five being burned inside a train car, Zelensky said. The attack came after weeks of warnings from military officials that Russia could be planning attacks on Ukrainian Independence Day, which coincided with the six-month anniversary of Russia's invasion.
AT LEAST 15 DEAD AND DOZENS INJURED IN RUSSIAN ATTACK ON UKRAINIAN TRAIN STATION
"As of this moment, there are 25 dead, five of them burned in the car, an 11-year-old boy died, a Russian missile destroyed his house," Zelensky said on Wednesday. "Search and rescue operations at the railway station will continue. We will definitely make the occupiers bear responsibility for everything they have done. And we will certainly drive the invaders out of our land."
Ukraine had braced for possible attacks on its Independence Day, banning celebrations and events in the capital city of Kyiv and Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city.
"One of the key tasks of the enemy is to humiliate us, Ukrainians, to devalue our capabilities, our heroes, to spread despair, fear, to spread conflicts," the country's president said over the weekend. "Therefore, it is important never, for a single moment, to give in to this enemy pressure, not to wind oneself up, not to show weakness."
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President Joe Biden authorized a military aid package of nearly $3 billion to be given to Ukraine on Wednesday in a symbolic gesture honoring Ukrainian Independence Day. The latest batch of spending brings the White House's total commitment in Ukrainian aid to more than $13.5 billion.
More than 5,580 Ukrainians have been killed and another 7,890 injured since Russia invaded the country in late February, according to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Most of the deaths were due to explosive weapons or heavy shelling, and the real number of casualties might be even higher.
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Tags: War in Ukraine, Ukraine, Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky, News, Foreign Policy
Original Author: Cami Mondeaux
Original Location: Zelensky vows revenge as death toll rises in Russian attack on Ukrainian Independence Day