War in Ukraine: Attack on civilian vehicles kills 25

Ukrainian and Russian forces accused each other of striking a convoy of civilian cars along the border between Ukrainian territory and the occupied Zaporizhia region in the country’s south on Friday, killing 25 people. “The enemy launched a rocket attack against a humanitarian convoy of civilians, people lined up to go to the temporarily occupied area, meet relatives and get help,” Ukrainian regional governor Oleksandr Staruk pointed out in a telegram.

At least 25 people were killed and 50 wounded in the strike, according to the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office, with both camps denying responsibility for the bombing. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia a “terrorist” and a “bloodthirsty tyrant.”

An official of the Ukrainian president, Kyrillo Tymoshenko, said 16 Russian S-300 missiles fell in the area, while these surface-to-air weapons are used by the Russians to attack ground targets.

The scene showed two columns of cars with broken windows and bodies trapped by the impacts. Between them lay lifeless bodies, some covered with sheets.

Vladimir Rokov, a representative of the local Russian occupation, accused Kyiv of “attacking our people standing in line” to prevent these citizens from entering Russian-controlled territory. Both sides posted photos of vehicles with windshields and lifeless bodies.

In addition, an official of the Russian occupation administration in the neighboring Kherson region was killed in a Ukrainian strike overnight from Thursday to Friday, local officials said.

Alexey Katerinitsev was the first deputy head of the administration of the Kherson region, in charge of security. He was killed in a “precision strike” on his home by Ukrainian forces using US-supplied HIMARS systems, Russian occupation official Kirill Stremosov said.