At least 30 civilians killed in Russian strike on convoy, Ukraine says

At least 30 civilians were injured and 30 killed in a Russian missile strike that Kyiv claimed was a cynical Russian attack on a convoy in southern Ukraine. The strike, Kyiv stated, took place on Friday (30 September). It left bodies scattered across the ground.

Officials said that the convoy was preparing to leave Ukraine's territory under control of Ukraine to visit family and deliver supplies to an area controlled by Russia.

"The enemy began this day with a deliberate, absolutely calculated murder of Ukrainians," President Volodymyr Zilenskiy stated in a video address. He also gave the latest casualty numbers.

"They will answer before the law without fail."

A witness said that car windows were blown out by the missile strike's impact and that shrapnel was sprayed on their sides.

One person was leaning forward from the driver's chair into the passenger seat in a yellow car. The left hand was still gripping the steering wheel.

This attack took place hours before President Vladimir Putin declared Russian rule over Zaporizhzhia, three other provinces where Moscow had seized territory.

To mark the occasion, authorities held a concert in Moscow's central Red Square.

"They sang in a square, they were discussing Zaporizhzhia, while they did it in Zaporizhzhia." Zelenskiy said that they are not human beings.

Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians. Vladimir Rogov, a Russian official in the Zaporizhzhia Region, claimed that the attack was committed by Ukrainian forces.

Sergey Ujryumov (police Colonel), is the head of the explosive disposal section of Zaporizhzhia's police department. He stated that the S300 missiles had struck the car market.

Ujryumov said to Reuters that Russian military knew that columns were being formed here to travel to the occupied territory. They knew the coordinates."

It's not an accidental strike. He said that it was perfectly planned.

CORPSES

Cars were filled with belongings, blankets, and suitcases. A young woman and her husband were covered in plastic sheets. The young man in the back seat was accompanied by a dead cat.

Two bodies were found in a white minivan, with their windows blown out and shrapnel pitted on the sides.

A body of an elderly woman was found nearby with her shopping bag beside her.

Nataliya, another woman, stated that she and her husband had been visiting their children at Zaporizhzhia.

"We were going to return to my 90-year-old mother. We were spared. It's a miracle," she stated.

Nikola Rusak (a 62-year old delivery driver from Kherson's southern province) was uninjured as he slept in a minivan about 20 meters (20 yards) from an automobile parts shop that was hit by a missile.

He said: "I couldn't understand what was going on. I got up and saw people running. I was in a daze. I was standing there, frozen. I didn't know how to proceed."

Rusak claimed that he had been in the vehicle for five nights after dropping relatives in Zaporizhizia. He was waiting for a call to tell him to join the convoy to return home to care for his mother, who is now 89 years old.

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