The death toll from the terrorist bombardment that destroyed a civilian bus now stands at 13. Nine people died at the scene, while an additional four individuals died in hospital from their wounds. A camera crew of Channel 5 has just returned from Volnovakha, a place still reeling from the tragedy.
These are people who have just looked death in the eye, those who were passengers on the bus route “Zlatoustivka-Donetsk”. All around them the Grad shells began to explode. Passenger Valeriy Zubkov explains that he began his journey on this route at Volnovakha, intending to return home to Donetsk after visiting his family. “There was an enormous explosion that destroyed our bus, twisting the doors and blowing out the windows. I was injured in the head, in the hand, and have some broken bones. The man next to me died instantly. He was 25. Those who had been standing inside the bus were lying everywhere. Everyone was covered in blood. There was blood everywhere.”
Yuriy, a mechanic, was returning home after work. He also got on the bus at Volnovakha, intending to travel only a few kilometers down the road to the village of Buhas. He recalls that although that particular bus is designated as a 39 passenger bus, it was filled to over-capacity. “I just managed to climb aboard, it was overcrowded. We arrived at a checkpoint, and there was one bus ahead of us. They went through the inspection and then it was our turn. The force of the explosion lifted the bus off the ground, with things flying everywhere. I was crouched down in front of the main doors of the bus. When the doors opened, trails of blood began to flow throughout the bus. Some people managed to run for cover; some soldiers jumped into their trenches.”
There are currently 12 people injured in yesterday’s tragedy who are now recovering in hospital in Volnovakha. Three of them are in serious condition. A total of 18 individuals were admitted, two with non-life threatening wounds, one has been transferred to Mariupol, while three have been discharged and have returned to their homes.
At the checkpoint that was at the center of the terrorist bombardment, soldiers of Battalion Kyiv-2 continue to serve their rotations as they had been doing a day earlier. They are certain that the terrorists fired rockets from a Grad MLRS missile system. They have video footage evidence from a camera located near the scene.
This video has been handed over by the Ukrainian soldiers to representatives of the mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, who have visited the site of the terrorist attack. It is the hope of the Ukrainian soldiers that this international mission will reach an objective and impartial conclusion about this incident. Experts have already commented that the direction of the bombardment was from Dokuchayivsk. They have already recovered remnants of the delivery system and components of a Grad, and have taken measurements of the crater caused by the explosion. A total of 27 missile impact sites have been counted.
Soldiers of Battalion “Kyiv-2” has placed a memorial cross at the site of the tragedy, while local residents have been bringing to it memorial candles and flowers.
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