NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880/AP) -- A missile hit a crowded train station in eastern Ukraine used to evacuate civilians, killing dozens of people and injuring many more Friday, Ukrainian authorities said. Meanwhile, the Kremlin acknowledged it has suffered “significant losses of troops” in the six-week invasion, calling it a “huge tragedy for us.” Russia has shifted its focus to the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine after failing to take Kyiv, and Ukrainian officials warned residents this week to leave as soon as possible for safer parts of the country.
FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022
8:45 a.m. - At least 39 killed in missile strike at train station where civilians evacuating: Ukraine
At least 39 people were killed when a missile hit a crowded train station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast on Friday. The station has been a busy evacuation point for civilians.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that thousands of people were at the train station when the missile struck.
“Not having the strength and courage to confront us on the battlefield, they are cynically destroying the civilian population,” Zelenskyy posted to Facebook along with graphic photos of the aftermath that show bodies on the ground. “This is evil that knows no bounds. And if it is not punished it will never stop.”
The regional governor of Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said at least 39 people were killed and 87 wounded. The office of Ukraine’s prosecutor-general said about 4,000 civilians were in and around the station, most of them women and children heeding calls to leave the area before Russian forces arrived.
Officials put the number of injured anywhere from 87 to as many as 300.
Kramatorsk mayor Oleksandr Goncharenko told Ukrainian TV that between 30 and 40 surgeons were treating the wounded, and hospitals were unable to cope with the surge in admissions.
The Russian Defense Ministry denied targeting the station in Kramatorsk, a city in the eastern Donetsk region, but Zelenskyy blamed Russia for the bodies lying in what looked like an outdoor waiting area.
Russian-backed separatists control part of the Donestsk region, but Kramatorsk remains under Ukrainian government control.
8 a.m. - Kremlin acknowledges ‘significant losses of troops’
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged that Russia has suffered “significant losses of troops” during its military operation in Ukraine.
Peskov said: “Yes, we have significant losses of troops and it is a huge tragedy for us.”
Speaking in an exclusive interview with British broadcaster Sky on Thursday, Peskov also hinted that the operation might be over “in the foreseeable future.” He said that Russian forces were “doing their best to bring an end to that operation.”
He said: “And we do hope that in coming days, in the foreseeable future, this operation will reach its goals, or we’ll finish it by the negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.”
7:30 a.m. - Food prices soar to record levels on Ukraine war disruptions
Prices for food commodities like grains and vegetable oils reached their highest levels ever last month largely because of Russia's war in Ukraine and the “massive supply disruptions” it is causing, threatening millions of people in Africa, the Middle East elsewhere with hunger and malnourishment, the United Nations said Friday.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said its Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices for a basket of commodities, averaged 159.3 points last month, up 12.6% from February. As it is, the February index was the highest level since its inception in 1990.
FAO said the war in Ukraine was largely responsible for the 17.1% rise in the price of grains, including wheat and others like oats, barley and corn. Together, Russia and Ukraine account for around 30% and 20% of global wheat and corn exports, respectively.
7 a.m. - Zelenskyy expects more atrocities will be uncovered in Borodianka
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday night that work has begun to dig through the rubble in Borodianka, another city northwest of Kyiv that was occupied by the Russians.
He also said “it is much scarier” there, with even more victims of the Russian troops.
In his daily nighttime video address to the nation Thursday, Zelenskyy said the Russians were preparing to shock the world in the same way by showing corpses in Mariupol and falsely claiming they were killed by the Ukrainian defenders.
Meanwhile, Bucha Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk said Thursday on Ukrainian television that investigators have found at least three sites of mass shootings of civilians during the Russian occupation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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