rocket fire
30 dead in attack by civilian car convoy in Zaporizhia
According to Ukrainian sources, more than 20 people were killed in a rocket attack on a civilian car convoy in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia. photo
© Viacheslav Tverdokhlib/AP/dpa
They apparently wanted to pick up relatives in the area occupied by Russian troops and bring help. Then the motorcade is hit by Russian missiles. 30 people die.
According to Ukrainian sources, 30 people were killed in a rocket attack on a civilian car convoy in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia on Friday. Another 88 people were injured, the police said. The governor of the Zaporizhia regional administration, Olexander Starukh, blamed Russian troops for the attack. The information cannot be verified independently.
The convoy was shot at as it was leaving the city to enter the area occupied by Russian troops. People would have wanted to pick up relatives there and bring help. Rescue workers and paramedics are on site, Staruch said.
A crater could be seen in pictures next to damaged cars. People lay in pools of blood next to the vehicles, others sat slumped behind the wheel – the dead were covered with makeshift cloths. Helpers tried to calm a woman in tears, as shown on a recording.
On the other hand, the head of the Russian occupation administration for the Zaporizhia region, Vladimir Rogov, accused Ukrainian troops of shelling the convoy on his Telegram channel. According to Rogov, 23 people were killed and 34 injured trying to enter Russian-controlled territory.
Zaporizhia Oblast is one of four oblasts officially annexed by Russia on Friday afternoon, along with Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk. So far, Russian troops have occupied around 70 percent of the region – but not the regional capital Zaporizhia itself.
Telegram channel Staruch (Ukr.) Telegram channel Rogov (Russian)