At least 26 killed and 85 wounded in attack on “humanitarian convoy” in Zaporiyia region

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Kiev calls shelling a “terrorist attack.”

At least 26 people have been killed and 85 wounded on Friday by an attack on a “humanitarian convoy” in the Ukrainian region of Zaporiyia, triggering a crossfire of accusations between Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russian authorities installed in this part of the country.

The head of the Regional Military Authority of Zaporiyia, Oleksandr Staruj, has detailed that “the enemy has launched a rocket attack against a humanitarian convoy leaving a regional center” and has pointed out that all the victims are civilians.

Thus, Staruj stressed in a series of messages on his Telegram account that “people were lining up to leave the temporarily occupied territory, pick up their relatives and bring aid” . “Rescue workers, doctors and all relevant services are working on the spot,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Denis Monastirski confirmed that at least 85 people have been injured, bringing the total number of victims to 115 after the attack, according to information gathered by the Ukrinform news agency.

“These bombings have been carried out deliberately today. There is no military target here, only civilians. This attack has clearly been planned. Now the world’s leading terrorist, Vladimir Putin, is speaking out, declaring the annexation of these areas. It is a response to the success of the troops in Kharkov and Liman, it is the impotent response of the Russian Army to the civilized world,” he said.

Officials estimate that Russian forces have launched 16 missiles making use of S-300 air defense systems.

Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky has accused the “terrorist state” of attacking civilian population in Zaporiyia, Mikolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk. “The occupiers have fired 16 rockets in one morning at Zaporiyia,” he has denounced, before stressing that “only terrorists can do that and they should have no place in the civilized world.”

“The enemy is enraged and seeks revenge for our steadfastness and its failures. He cynically destroys peaceful Ukrainians because he lost all human characteristics long ago. They are bloodthirsty trash. They will answer for every lost Ukrainian life,” he said.

For his part, the Russian administrator of the occupied Zaporiyia region, Vladimir Rogov, has accused Ukrainian forces of being behind the attack. “They have fired at a group of cars waiting to move to liberated territory at the exit of Zaporiyia,” he has indicated on his Telegram account.

“It is the classic Anglo-Saxon provocation against the disloyal civilian population,” he has stated, before stressing that “it has been done according to the classic formula of ‘they have fired at themselves’, with subsequent accusations against Russia.” “Two days ago, in a sign of protest against the actions of the regime of (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky, these people blocked the road asking to be allowed to go to liberated territories,” he added.