Ukraine President Zelensky seeks tough reply after Russian attack on train station kills dozens

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he wants a tough global response to Russia after its forces fired a missile at a crowded train station, killing at least 52 people.

Zelenskyy’s voice rose in anger during his nightly address late Friday, when he said the strike on the Kramatorsk train station, where 4,000 people were trying to flee a looming Russian offensive in the east, amounted to another war crime.

Russia denied it was responsible for the strike. Among those killed were five children, and dozens of people were severely injured.

Photos taken after the attack showed corpses covered with tarpaulins, and the remnants of a rocket painted with the words “For the children” in Russian. The Russian phrasing seemed to suggest the missile was sent to avenge the loss or subjugation of children, although its exact meaning remained unclear.

The strike seemed to shock world leaders.

“There are almost no words for it,” European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters during a visit to Ukraine. “The cynical behavior (by Russia) has almost no benchmark anymore.”

President Zelensky began his nightly Facebook address by describing the missile strike on the Kramatorsk railway station as "another war crime of Russia".

"Like the massacre in Bucha, like many other Russian war crimes, the missile strike on Kramatorsk must be one of the charges at the tribunal, which is bound to happen," he said.

"Responsibility is inevitable," he added.

He went on the praise the visit to Kyiv earlier on Friday by the president of the European Commission and head of European diplomacy.

He thanked the delegation and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen "for her personal involvement and assistance in setting up a joint investigation team to establish the full truth about the actions of the Russian occupiers and bring all those responsible to justice".

Zelenskiy also repeated his call for more weapons to be provided to Ukraine, and for greater sanctions to be imposed on Russia.

“The pressure on Russia must be increased. It is necessary to introduce a full energy embargo - on oil, on gas. It is energy exports that provide the lion’s share of Russia’s profits. Russian banks must also be completely disconnected from the global financial system,” he said.

Zelenskiy added that Ukraine had provided details of the military equipment it requires.

“Any delay in providing such weapons to Ukraine, any excuses can mean only one thing: the relevant politicians want to help the Russian leadership more than us Ukrainians,” he said.