UKRAINE: Dozens killed in attack on refugee bus convoy, Ukraine says

Record ID: 274632

  • Title: UKRAINE: Dozens killed in attack on refugee bus convoy, Ukraine says
  • Date: 18th August 2014
  • Summary: KIEV, UKRAINE (AUGUST 18, 2014) (REUTERS) UKRAINIAN NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENCE COUNCIL SPOKESMAN, ANDRIY LYSENKO, WALKING TO PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) UKRAINIAN NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENCE COUNCIL SPOKESMAN, ANDRIY LYSENKO, SAYING: "The convoy consisted of two parts. The first part carried adults. The second part consisted of children being carried separately."
  • Embargoed: 2nd September 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ukraine
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: Conflict,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVABXITBL6JRF9Z3DC066RYV36XS
  • Story Text: Dozens of people, including women and children, were killed in an attack on a refugee bus convoy with a rocket fire, Ukraine's military spokesman says laying blame on pro-Russian separatists.

    Dozens of people, including women and children, were killed on Monday (August 18) when a refugee convoy of buses was hit by rocket fire near the eastern city of Luhansk, a Ukrainian military spokesman said.
    Ukraine has accused pro-Russian rebels of targeting the convoy, but the separatists deny responsibility.
    "The convoy consisted of two parts. The first part carried adults. The second part consisted of children being carried separately," spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in a briefing to journalists.
    "The convoy had white flags and signs identifying that it is a convoy carrying civilians and internally displaced people. Nevertheless, convoy was shelled from the Grad multiple missile launcher," he added.
    A rebel leader denied his forces had the military capability to conduct such an attack, and accused Kiev forces of regularly attacking the area and also using Russian-made Grad missiles.
    "At the moment, we haven't been able to count the number of victims. The operation is under way. We are asking not to make public the video provided from there. It contains awful scenes," said Lysenko, though no video from the scene of the attack was made available to media.
    Asked about the death toll from the attack, Lysenko replied: "Dozens".
    The separatist conflict erupted after Russia seized the Crimean peninsula in March following the ousting of a Moscow-backed Ukrainian president. Separatists occupied key buildings in towns across the Russian-speaking east, declaring "people's republics" and saying they wanted to join Russia.
    The United Nations said this month that an estimated 2,086 people, including civilians and combatants, had been killed in the conflict. The death toll has nearly doubled since the end of July, when Ukrainian forces stepped up their offensive as they gained more ground against the rebels.
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