News

On 5 November, a representative of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Lithuania was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and handed a note of strong protest over the continuing attacks by the Russian armed forces against Ukraine, deliberately targeting places where civilians gather, as well as energy and other civilian infrastructure.

The note states that on 29 October, Russia added to its list of war crimes with a jet-powered drone strike on Dnipro railway station. The attack struck a platform where a passenger train operating on the Dnipro–Zaporizhzhia route was standing. Fourteen civilians were killed and more were injured.

The document also highlights the particularly high number of casualties caused by the 2 November strike on Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region, when a Russian aerial bomb hit a school where humanitarian and medical assistance was being provided to civilians. The initial strike was followed by a second wave of attacks, with bombs targeting the school’s shelter, where civilians had sought refuge. Among those killed were four Ukrainian police officers and two rescuers from Ukraine’s State Emergency Service, who lost their lives while providing first aid following the initial strikes. The bloody attack killed 40 civilians, while dozens more were injured or remain missing.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes that these actions once again demonstrate Russia’s intent to terrorise and wear down Ukraine’s civilian population and to make living conditions as difficult as possible as winter approaches. It must be emphasised that international humanitarian law prohibits deliberate attacks against civilians and civilian objects, and that such acts constitute war crimes.

Lithuania will continue to support international efforts to ensure that all those who ordered, organised and perpetrated crimes committed in the course of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine are held accountable. Lithuania also reiterates its demand that Russia immediately cease its aggression against Ukraine, withdraw its forces from the entire internationally recognised territory of Ukraine, and compensate Ukraine for the damage it has caused.