A Russian missile attack on a railway station in the town of Czaplino in the Dnipropetrovsk region in eastern Ukraine could be a war crime, the AP agency assessed, citing experts in the field of international law. 25 people were killed in the shelling on Wednesday, including two children.
The Associated Press reporter who was on the scene did not notice that Ukrainian soldiers were among the dead. If civilians were targeted, the attack could be considered a war crime, the PA reported, citing experts.
“The train station is generally a civilian facility and should not be attacked,” said the international law specialist i human rights from New York University (NYU) Jennifer Trahan.
Attack on the railway station in Czaplin twitter.com/DmytroKuleba
Attack on the railway station in Czaplino
The blow to the village of Czaplino was one of the most tragic consequences of the Russian attacks on the railway infrastructure in Ukraine. In April, the rocket killed over 50 civilians train station in Kramatorskwhere people were waiting for evacuation trains.
Journalists from the PA and PBS’s “Frontline” investigative program independently verified more than 40 attacks on civilian infrastructure that could be considered war crimes. In three cases, the target was rail infrastructure, in seven local bus stops. In total, more than 100 civilians were killed, so there is no evidence to support Moscow’s claims that the attacks were directed against the Ukrainian military.
Main photo source: twitter.com/DmytroKuleba