Russian strikes on Kramatorsk hit residential area and evacuation point, killing one
On the morning of 20 September, Russian forces struck Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast twice within roughly an hour. An artillery barrage at around 10:10 hit the Lazurnyi microdistrict, killing a woman and wounding a man. About an hour later, two aerial bombs struck the city, with one directly hitting an evacuation point where evacuees and aid workers were present.
Key points
- At around 10:10 on 20 September, three Russian artillery shells hit the Lazurnyi microdistrict of Kramatorsk, killing a woman and wounding a man born in 1961.
- The morning artillery strike damaged a school and several multi-storey residential buildings.
- At around 11:19–11:20, two aerial bombs (described as KABs) hit Kramatorsk; one directly struck an evacuation point where evacuees and evacuation workers were present.
- At least two people were injured in the aerial bomb strike, which also damaged a kindergarten, a school, four multi-storey residential buildings, five cars, and other civilian infrastructure.
- A fire covering 4,800 square metres broke out in a two-storey educational building following the strike and was extinguished by rescuers.
- Ukrainian officials — Kramatorsk City Military Administration head Oleksandr Honcharenko and Proliska humanitarian mission head Yevhen Kaplin — were the primary sources for information on the strikes.
Why it matters
The strike hit an evacuation point with evacuees and evacuation workers present — a direct attack on civilian humanitarian infrastructure. Two separate strikes within an hour hit residential, educational and humanitarian sites, killing at least one civilian and wounding several others. The use of guided aerial bombs against an evacuation point raises concerns about deliberate targeting of civilians.
What happened
On the morning of 20 September, Russian forces struck Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast twice. At around 10:10, three artillery shells hit the Lazurnyi microdistrict, killing a woman and injuring a man born in 1961; the barrage damaged a school and several multi-storey residential buildings. About an hour later, at around 11:19–11:20, two aerial bombs (preliminarily identified as KABs) struck the city, with one directly hitting an evacuation point where evacuees and evacuation workers were present. At least two people were injured in the air strike, which damaged a kindergarten, an educational institution, four multi-storey residential buildings, five cars and other civilian infrastructure. A 4,800 m² fire broke out in a two-storey educational building and was extinguished by rescuers, who also freed people from a blocked apartment entrance. The head of the Kramatorsk City Military Administration, Oleksandr Honcharenko, provided details on both strikes to Suspilne Donbas; Yevhen Kaplin, head of the Proliska humanitarian mission, reported the direct hit on the evacuation point via Facebook.
Where reporting differs
Sources give different birth years and ages for the woman killed in the 10:10 artillery strike on the Lazurnyi microdistrict: one source describes her as 69 years old, others cite a 1956 birth year (per the Kramatorsk city council), and still others cite a 1965 birth year. Reports also differ on the casualty profile of the aerial bomb strike on the evacuation point: official preliminary figures (as of 13:00) state two people injured, while a combat medic named Iryna, cited by Suspilne, reported two men with serious injuries. Sources also disagree on the exact location of the evacuation point: official reporting describes it as an evacuation point in Kramatorsk, while local Telegram channels said it was located in a kindergarten.
Background
Kramatorsk has been a regular target of Russian strikes during the full-scale war; on 18 September Russian forces killed a person in the city. Russian forces regularly attack Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure using strike drones, missiles, KABs and multiple rocket launchers. Ukrainian authorities and international organizations classify such strikes as war crimes; Russian leadership denies that the Russian army deliberately targets civilian infrastructure.