Zelenskyy on attack on Ukraine's Marhanets: Brutal strike and deliberate war crime
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
The Russian army attacked a bus carrying workers in Marhanets, Dnipropetrovsk region, on the morning of April 23. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the shelling "an absolutely deliberate crime," according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Telegram channel.
"An extremely brutal strike and an absolutely deliberate war crime. The Russians hit a bus in the city of Marhanets that was transporting male and female workers of a mining and processing plant. Just a regular bus," he said.
According to the president, it was clearly a civilian object, a civilian target.
"Over 40 people were injured, most of them women, and some suffered very severe injuries. Unfortunately, 9 people were killed. My condolences to their families and loved ones," he continued.
Zelenskyy noted that such Russian attacks on civilians using FPV drones are, unfortunately, not uncommon.
"Civilians suffer the most from such terror in Kherson and the region, in Kupiansk, in Pokrovsk, in communities of the Dnipropetrovsk region: Nikopol and Marhanets. Such strikes happen almost daily. The Russians even boast about them, posting videos of the hits on civilians online," he said.
In the president's opinion, the whole world must take this soberly: if the Russian forces are using this form of terror, other terrorists may adopt it too.
"This is one of the reasons why the continuation of Russian aggression is globally dangerous. War changes over time, and the longer it lasts, the more, unfortunately, these methods of killing and torturing people may become modernized," Zelenskyy believes.
He reminded that Ukraine insists on an immediate, full, and unconditional ceasefire, which was also the absolutely correct proposal made by the United States on March 11 of this year.
"This is absolutely possible. But only if Russia agrees to it and stops the killings," the president emphasized.
Zelenskyy added that during Easter, there was a reduction in the intensity of hostilities and no air raid alerts, and Ukraine proposed to extend this ceasefire for at least 30 days and to make the cessation of fire comprehensive.
"We are also ready for an immediate ceasefire, at the very least on civilian targets, and we have already declared this. This must be a shared top priority with all our partners – preserving lives," the head of state concluded.
Drone strike on a bus in Marhanets
On April 23, Russian forces attacked Marhanets using a strike drone. The UAV hit a bus carrying workers from a local enterprise.
Initially, reports stated that 7 people were killed and 6 injured. Later, it was officially confirmed that the attack claimed 9 lives, with 32 others wounded.
Subsequently, the number of injured in Marhanets rose to 43, most of whom are currently in the hospital. According to updated information, the total number of victims has reached 49.
