Putin orders station massacre general to target eastern region
VLADIMIR Putin has appointed a general accused of ordering the missile strike on Kramatorsk’s railway station that killed at least 52 to mastermind the offensive to seize eastern Ukraine.
Captain General Aleksandr Dvornikov, 60, also oversaw Russia’s intervention in Syria.
The commander of Russia’s southern military district now leads the invasion after the Kremlin reorganised its top brass following the failure to seize Kyiv, a western official confirmed yesterday.
But Ukraine’s president, Vlodymyr Zelensky, in his nightly address, vowed those responsible for Friday’s attack would face justice for targeting 4,000 people trying to flee the looming offensive.
He told Ukrainians that great efforts would be taken “to establish every minute of who did what, who gave what orders, where the missile came from, who transported it, who gave the command and how this strike was agreed”.
It comes after Russian troops pulled out of northern cities such as Chernihiv, leaving behind further evidence of war crimes.
The bodies of 132 people executed in Makariv, 30 miles west of Kyiv, were discovered after forces retreated. Mayorvadym
Tokar said the majority of the bodies were in mass graves but some were found in the streets. All died from bullet wounds. Here, the Ministry of Defence said that Russia continues to target Ukrainian non-combatants as its focus has shifted on the Donbas region, Mariupol and Mykolaiv.
The assault is supported by continued cruise missile launches by Russian naval forces and increased air activity.
Ten humanitarian corridors to evacuate people from besieged regions, including Mariupol, were agreed yesterday.
But more need to be evacuated from the Luhansk region, as Governor Serhiy Gaidai warned Russia is “amassing forces for an offensive”.