Russian proxies set up their own self-declared states in Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk in 2014.
The attack happened as Ukrainian authorities were trying to evacuate as much of the town’s civilian population as possible, in anticipation of a fresh assault on the region by Russian forces.
Shrapnel of an Iskander ballistic missile was recovered at the site of the attack.
Reports quoted Oleksandr Kamyshin, the head of Ukraine’s railroad operator Ukrzaliznytsia, as saying that a Russian airstrike near the town of Barvinkove had hit the only Ukrainian-controlled exit route from the cities of Slovyansk, Kramatorsk, and Lyman, stalling evacuations from the region.
The UN estimates that over 10 million Ukrainians – more than a quarter of the country’s population – have been displaced by Russia’s invasion. Attempts to establish ‘humanitarian corridors’ to enable the evacuation of civilians have been repeatedly disrupted by hostilities.
Source : Investing.com