Mr. Chair,
Like others, Norway too condemns in the strongest possible terms the missile attack on the railway station in Kramatorsk on 8 April, claiming the lives of more than 50 people and injuring scores of others, many of them critically.
We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims and mourn together with the Ukrainian people and with Ukrainian colleagues in the OSCE.
This strike on a large crowd of civilians, within a densely populated urban area, is yet another demonstration of the blatant disregard for civilian life, which has by now sadly become a steady feature of this military aggression.
This was nothing but a brutal, indiscriminate bombing of innocent civilians, including children, who were intending to flee Russia’s onslaught on their homes and country, to relative safety further west in Ukraine.
This atrocity must be thoroughly investigated. I reiterate once again, that those responsible for grave breaches of international humanitarian law and serious violations of international human rights law must be held accountable.
If this was a deliberately targeted attack against civilians, it may indeed constitute a war crime. There must be no impunity for war crimes.
I once again urge the Russian Federation to stop its attack on Ukraine. There can in the end only be a diplomatic solution. The war must end.
I kindly ask that this statement be attached to the journal of the day.