Photo: Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP"The Russians are deliberately targeting civilians," said Vadim Filashkin, head of the Donetsk regional military administration
At least 33 people died on Thursday when Russian attack caused a fire in two buses in the eastern Ukraine, local authorities said, making the attack the deadliest single strike this year.
Another 18 people were injured in the attack in Kramatorsk, a city in the Donetsk region, prompting local authorities to suspend public transport and call on citizens to move to safer parts of the country, CNN writes.
"The Russians are deliberately targeting civilians," said Vadim Filashkin, head of the Donetsk regional military administration. "For them, a bus full of passengers is an attractive target precisely because one impact can kill as many people as possible."
The State Service for Emergency Situations of Ukraine (DSSV) announced that the Russian attack caused a fire in two buses and in the surrounding area. Rescue teams went to the scene to help the survivors and put out the fire, the service added.
Filashkin said he ordered the suspension of public transport in the cities of Kramatorsk and Slavyansk after the attack and urged civilians to move to safer areas. "I call on everyone who remained in the Donetsk region to evacuate to safer parts of Ukraine," he said.
"Russia brings death to Ukrainian soil. It targets our cities, kills our people and multiplies its crimes every day," added Filashkin, sending his condolences to the families and relatives of the victims.
A massive Russian missile attack on Kiev in July killed 33 people across the city in a coordinated series of strikes. However, Thursday's attack recorded the highest number of victims in a single strike this year.
Both Kramatorsk and Slavyansk are key industrial cities near the front line. Together with the nearby towns of Konstantinovka and Druzhkovka, they form the core of the remaining Ukrainian "fortress belt" in the Donetsk region.
Kramatorsk has long served as a strategic rear point for Ukrainian units deployed on the eastern front – as well as a place where exhausted troops can retreat for a few days' rest before their next mission.
However, a spokesman for the Ukrainian army's 93rd Mechanized Brigade told CNN last month that this was no longer an option due to frequent shelling.
Over the past four and a half years, the fortification belt has gradually crumbled. Its southernmost stronghold, Kostiantynivka, is now virtually lost as a defensive point.
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