2 Ukrainian helicopters shot down in Russian offensive, as 30 die in attack on train station

The Russian military has shot down two Ukrainian combat helicopters, according to Defence Ministry spokesperson, Igor Konashenkov.

Konashenkov said the Russian forces fired on 81 military targets on Thursday, with Moscow intensifying its attacks on Ukraine.

On Thursday, the military reported the targeting of 29 objects the day before.

As well as the Mi-8 and Mi-24 combat helicopters, the targets hit on Thursday included Ukrainian military command posts and bases, as well as heavy artillery and rocket launchers in the Donbas, Konashenkov said.

In addition, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet had destroyed a training camp for “foreign mercenaries” near Odessa, he said.

In a related development, at least 30 people have been killed and 100 injured in a rocket attack on a railway station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on Friday.

The Ukrainian Railway Chief, Alexander Kamyshin, said it was a deliberate attack on the passengers, infrastructure of the railway and the residents of Kramatorsk.

According to Donetsk Governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, thousands of people were waiting at Kramatorsk’s train station to be evacuated.

Tetyana Ihnatenko, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s Donetsk administrative region, said 27 people were killed in the attack, including two children, and at least 30 injured.

The city is in the part of the Donetsk region that remains under Ukrainian control.

Pro-Russian separatists lay claim to the entire region. (Pieced together from dpa/NAN reports)