Officials in Kiev reported that a Russian missile attack killed 22 civilians and burned a passenger train ablaze in eastern Ukraine, with missile strikes occurring north of the capital as Ukraine celebrated its Independence Day under severe shelling.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated in a video address to the United Nations Security Council that rockets struck a train in the small town of Chaplyne, located approximately 145 kilometers (90 miles) west of Russian-occupied Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
The event also coincided with the six-month anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which sparked Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.
Zelenskiy had warned of the possibility of "repugnant Russian provocations" ahead of Wednesday's 31st anniversary of Ukraine's independence from Moscow-dominated Soviet government, thus public festivities were canceled.
Later, Zelenskiy aide Kyrylo Tymoshenko reported that Russian soldiers had twice shelled Chaplyne.
In the first incident, a youngster was killed when a missile struck his home, and subsequently, 21 people were killed when rockets struck the train station and set fire to five train cars, he added in a statement.
Six explosions occurred overnight during a series of missile attacks in the Vyshgorod region north of Kiev, according to a statement released by regional official Olexiy Kuleba on Thursday. However, no deaths were reported.
The Russian Ministry of Defense did not reply quickly to a request for comment. Russia denies targeting people.
Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, tweeted:
"The Russian missile attack on a Ukrainian train station filled with civilians fits a pattern of horrors. Together with partners from throughout the world, we will continue to support Ukraine and demand accountability for Russian leaders."
Oleksiy Arestovych, a presidential adviser of Ukraine, stated that Russia's military ignored Kyiv over the Ukrainian holiday and instead attacked frontline cities such as Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Nikopol, and Dnipro with artillery fire.
"Heavy shelling of Ukraine on Independence Day," tweeted Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential aide.
Meanwhile, Kyiv sent evidence to international legal authorities regarding Russian plans, as described by U.N. officials on Tuesday, to try captured Ukrainian combatants from the Azov Regiment in Mariupol, according to officials.
After weeks of intensive bombardment as they besieged Ukrainian holdouts at the Azovstal steel factory, the port city succumbed to Russian forces in April.
Arestovych stated that Zelenskiy made it plain that Kiev would "never, ever" entertain peace negotiations with Moscow if the trials proceeded.
