Verification of a Kramatorsk Train Station Bombing

www.info-res.org Centre for Information Resilience 1
Verification of a Bombing
Kramatorsk, Ukraine
By Pierre Vaux, Benjamin Strick, and Benjamin Den Braber
October 2022

Verification of a Bombing: Kramatorsk, Ukraine
By Pierre Vaux, Benjamin Strick, Benjamin Den Braber
The Centre for Information Resilience’s Eyes on Russia (EoR) is an open-source investigations
project to map, document and verify significant incidents during the conflict in Ukraine.
Our aim is to provide reliable information on the conflict through verified open-source evidence.
The lead resource of the Eyes on Russia project is the Russia-Ukraine Monitor Map.
This investigation is a result of that work. The verification seen in this report will be logged in a
central database where the material is archived for future use by researchers, reporters as well
as justice and accountability bodies.
PLEASE NOTE:
This report contains descriptions of graphic imagery / violence which some readers may find
distressing.
KEY EVENT DETAILS
● Location of Incident:
○ Kramatorsk Train Station [Краматорськ]: 48.725836, 37.543074
○ Launch site near Shakhtne [Шахтне]: 47.977251, 38.313429
● Date/Time of Incident: Around 10:30am April 8, 2022.
● Alleged Perpetrator(s) and/or Involvement: Russian Military
● Eyes on Russia Conclusions:
○ Satellite imagery from April 8, 2022 shows smoke plume from launch site
○ Verified footage shows two rockets fired from the same location

1. Introduction
“I saw that my daughter had no trainers on her feet, then I realised that she had no
feet.”
— Survivor of the Kramatorsk attack interviewed by ODIHR1
On the morning of 8 April 2022, at about 10:30 am, a missile strike hit a railway station in
Kramatorsk in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
According to a report by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)2
, there
were approximately four thousand civilians at the station at the time of the strike. According to the
report, the overwhelming majority were waiting for a train to flee the war zone.
The strike was reported to have killed 59 civilians, injuring more than 100. Some of those who
died were children.
The explosion at the station was caused by a Tochka-U missile, which was later identified to be
equipped with cluster munitions.
This attack is clear evidence of Russia’s indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets, which are meant
to be protected by International Humanitarian Laws3
.
Despite evidence to the contrary, Russia’s Ministry of Defence denied4
responsibility for the
attack. Instead, Russia claimed the attack was a ‘provocation’ by Ukraine. In the citation of their
allegations, the Russian MOD claimed the “Russian Armed Forces did not have or plan to carry
out any firing missions in Kramatorsk city on April 8” and “that Tochka-U tactical missiles are used
by Ukrainian Armed Forces only”.
1
https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/c/d/523081_0.pdf
2
https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/c/d/523081_0.pdf
3
https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule11
4
https://www.facebook.com/mod.mil.rus/posts/pfbid025mJ3cdW1iV9cTRH65otgZi9vVMNUfUj8tNWfAJZtmxYuUXhrLKmVrtRBge1itr
UXl?__cft__[0]=AZW3m0OEf1vvLg2z0P6jdpXFSzwwqQMZ35sOBxXcXDgFOHPyBFbJjT9H7oLZ84VfAwoTtio1-
mepvLB5OzzrLrNdAF8uE9BD4J0S9YpiOjRwT7VFnF9ISLsgTm0kIDDAL8UrYzgUtyZDFuCNPGFwv1ij&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

The Russian Government’s attempts to distort the truth around what happened in Kramatorsk
were echoed by supporters and pro-Russian outlets online, further spreading mistruths about the
event.
This report uses open-source analysis to break down an exact timeline of what happened on 8
April, and who is responsible.
Figure 1: Geographical look at the launch location in respect to the location of Kramatorsk.

2. Timeline: What happened?
To analyse the sequence of events that resulted in the attack on Kramatorsk train station, CIR
has constructed a timeline going back to the previous day to show a pattern of ballistic missile
launches in the area, and the targeting of railways.
The data for this timeline is drawn exclusively from publicly available sources online.
April 6
Ukraine’s Ministry for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories calls5
for
civilians to evacuate the Donetsk, Luhansk, and part of the Kharkiv oblasts.
April 7
10:43-
11:00:
Videos and photos of missile launches near Zuhres6
and Shakhtarsk7
were published and
circulated on social media.
These launches appeared to come from the east of both settlements, with one photo8
likely
showing a launch area in a field between Hirne and Ternove.
11:30: Ukrainian Railways announced9
evacuation timetables from:
• Pokrovsk
• Kramatorsk
• Sloviansk
• Lozove
16:26: Ukrainian Railways reported10
that Russian forces have struck an overpass near
Barvinkove station, Izyum Rayon, Kharkiv Oblast. They warn that trains may be stuck in
Kramatorsk.
5
https://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2022/04/6/7337576/
6
https://twitter.com/GirkinGirkin/status/1511972962349559808
7
8
9
https://hromadske.ua/ru/posts/ukrzaliznycya-naznachila-na-7-aprelya-evakuacionnye-poezda-iz-doneckoj-i-harkovskoj-oblastej
10
https://t.me/zalizni_zminy/427

17:35: Footage11
shared on social media shows a large number of civilians attempting to evacuate
Kramatorsk via the train station.
21:09: Pro-separatist channel warns against travel by rail for evacuees from Kramatorsk and
surrounding towns12
.
April 8
01:25: Ukrainian Railways reported13
engineers have restored the line and three evacuation trains
have moved past the location of the strike near Barvinkove.
9:01: A member of a local Telegram group in occupied Khartsyzsk shared a video14
of a long
smoke plume following a ballistic arc over the south of the town.
9:23: Another video15
from Khartsyzsk showing a similar missile plume was shared on social
media.
10:12: Viktoria Zhukova, the head of the Russian-controlled administration in Khartsyzsk,
announced16
on her VKontakte account that surface-to-air missiles were being launched
and recommended residents take shelter.
10:15: Russian Ministry of Defence briefing17
claimed “precision missile strikes” had been directed
at Barvinkove, Pokrovsk and Sloviansk railway stations where Ukrainian military forces
were “arriving”.
10:18: A photo, taken in a housing estate on the eastern edge of Zuhres, was published18
on
Telegram showing twin rocket trails rising from the horizon.
10:22: A photo showing twin rocket trails rising was published19
on a different Telegram channel.
This one was taken on the western edge of Shakhtarsk.
11
https://twitter.com/lesiavasylenko/status/1512106720948019211
12
https://t.me/notes_veterans/2563
13
14
https://t.me/khartsyzsk_chat/51937
15
https://twitter.com/_khartsyz_/status/1512315298237583361
16
https://vk.com/wall331209086_8679
17
https://t.me/mod_russia/14136
18
https://t.me/shortDPR/21999 (channel since deleted)
19
https://t.me/chp_donetsk_dnr_ZV/13085 (this post was subsequently deleted after ostensibly pro-Ukrainian activists took over the
channel)

10:26: A video, filmed in Shakhtarsk, was shared20
on Telegram, showing twin rocket plumes.
10:29: First reports of shelling in Kramatorsk begin to appear on social media21
. Shortly after
(10:32am) accounts report an impact, or ‘arrival’, of apparent missile strikes22
.
10:44: Ukrainian Railways reports that two rockets have struck Kramatorsk railway station, as well
as issuing the first reports of victims23
11:05: Andrei Kamyzhikin, a war propagandist for Russia’s ANNA News and other outlets
including Regnum, posts24
:
“Our sources in Kramatorsk report that, around twenty minutes ago, a strike was conducted
near the railway station.
They also relay reports that yesterday, the Ukrainian armed forces brought military
hardware there.”
20
21
https://twitter.com/SaniOk_/status/1512331674067079173
22
https://twitter.com/ukrpopo76UA/status/1512332538760597506, https://twitter.com/reconstruktor/status/1512332549493858305
23
24
https://t.me/diza_donbass/1072?single

3. Geospatial analysis: Where did this happen?
Available open-source evidence points to multiple potential launch locations, in part due to
significant Russian activity before and after the Kramatorsk attack.
Data gathered from the morning of the strike indicates that several Russian missile instalments
were active.
Location of impact
Using footage2526
shared during the aftermath of the strike on the Kramatorsk Train station,
several points of impact of cluster submunition around the station were discovered, which
indicated contradicting directions of impact and fire. As a result, CIR investigators were unable to
use this methodology to calculate the direction of the fire.
Figure 2: Impact site 1, geolocation of the impact site of cluster submunition outside the Kramatorsk train station
[48.727090, 37.543442].
25
https://twitter.com/BBCJoeInwood/status/1514117324521066505
26
https://twitter.com/k_bezier/status/1512542725903687681

Figure 3: Impact site 2, geolocation of impact site of cluster submunition at Kramatorsk train station [48.725528,
37.542983]. Indicating a different impact angle as impact site 1.
Similarly, the position of the partially intact Tochka-U rocket booster, found near the scene of the
attack, is of little utility in determining the direction of flight.
Following separation from their payloads, Tochka-U boosters tumble, sometimes through several
complete rotations, before reaching the ground. This can be seen in an example27
of a Ukrainian
strike on Russian ships docked in occupied Berdyansk.
27
https://twitter.com/Tedii69/status/1515287807819931651

Missiles in flight
On the morning of the attack on Kramatorsk, several photos and videos were uploaded to social
media, showing missiles in flight over Russian-occupied territory to the east of Donetsk city.
Below is a chronological timeline on the content uploaded to social media platforms.
09:01: A member of a local Telegram group in occupied Khartsyzsk shared a video28
of a
long smoke plume following a ballistic arc over the south of the town.
09:23: Another video29
from Khartsyzsk showing a similar missile plume was shared on social
media.
10:12: Viktoria Zhukova, the head of the Russian-controlled administration in Khartsyzsk,
announced30
on her VKontakte account that surface-to-air missiles were being
launched and recommended residents take shelter.
CIR investigators believe that these “surface-to-air missiles” were actually ballistic
missile launches, being described to locals as defensive measures rather than
offensive strikes.
10:18: A photo, taken in a housing estate on the eastern edge of Zuhres, was published31
on
Telegram showing twin rocket trails rising from the horizon.
10:22: A photo showing twin rocket trails rising was published32
on a different Telegram
channel. This one was taken on the western edge of Shakhtarsk.
10:25: A video, filmed near Shakhtarsk, was shared33
by the Tipichny Donetsk Telegram
channel, showing two missiles taking off vertically.
10:26: A video, filmed in Shakhtarsk, was shared34
on Telegram, showing twin rocket plumes.
28
https://t.me/khartsyzsk_chat/51937
29
https://twitter.com/_khartsyz_/status/1512315298237583361
30
https://vk.com/wall331209086_8679
31
32
https://t.me/chp_donetsk_dnr_ZV/13085 (this post was subsequently deleted after ostensibly pro-Ukrainian activists took over the
channel)
33
https://t.me/itsdonetsk/11817
34

10:29: First reports on social media35
of impacts in Kramatorsk.
It must be assumed that there is some delay between a video or photo being captured and being
shared on a social media channel. Therefore, the timings are inevitably later than the events took
place, and the upload times may be staggered.
Of the five sightings, CIR investigators have grouped them into three:
1. Two views of missiles in flight from the south of Khartsyzk, either just before or after
9:00 am local time.
2. A photo of twin smoke plumes to the southeast of Zuhres, uploaded by 10:18 am.
3. Three sightings of rockets in flight from the southwest of Shakhtarsk, which were uploaded
at 10:22 am, 10:25 am, and 10:26 am.
The sightings from Group 3, is the likely location from where the missile which hit the train station
at Kramatorsk was fired.
Figure 4: Different groups of social media evidence identifying possible launch sites.
35
https://twitter.com/SaniOk_/status/1512331674067079173

4. Geospatial analysis: Where did the attack come from?
A European Space Agency’s Sentinel 2 satellite36
passed over the area, from which the missiles
were fired, at 11:36 am local time37
- around an hour after the strike on Kramatorsk.
CIR investigators used the lines of sight in the footage analysis above to search the satellite
imagery for any indications of launch sites.
Two sites were found with large plumes of smoke from burning grass - a common sight after
missile launches.
These burn sites line up with Groups 1 and 3 of the launch images posted on Telegram that
morning, group 3 being the most likely launch site of the rocket.
Launch site for attack on Kramatorsk
While there were a number of videos circulating online, and a number of fires identified on satellite
imagery as potential launch sites, there is one clear site that shows both smoke from where the
launch occurred on 8 April on satellite imagery38
, and also matches footage filmed of missile
launches.
The largest plume can be seen39
coming from a site next to an ash pond40
at the Zuhres power
station, near the village of Shakhtne, as seen in figure 5.
36
https://apps.sentinel-hub.com/sentinel-
playground/?source=S2&lat=47.97461079484555&lng=38.29864025115967&zoom=14&preset=1-NATURAL-
COLOR&layers=B01,B02,B03&maxcc=100&gain=1.0&gamma=1.0&time=2021-10-01%7C2022-04-
08&atmFilter=&showDates=false
37
Identified from timestamp of satellite imagery.
38
https://apps.sentinel-hub.com/sentinel-
playground/?source=S2&lat=47.97461079484555&lng=38.29864025115967&zoom=14&preset=1-NATURAL-
COLOR&layers=B01,B02,B03&maxcc=100&gain=1.0&gamma=1.0&time=2021-10-01%7C2022-04-
08&atmFilter=&showDates=false
39
https://sentinelshare.page.link/6xYs
40
https://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=47.985326&lon=38.326664&z=14&m=w&show=/4892072/ru/%D0%A8%D0%BB%D0%B0%D
0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B9%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA-
%D0%97%D1%83%D0%B5%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9-%D0%A2%D0%AD%D0%A1

Figure 5: Sentinel-2 satellite image showing smoke plume from April 8, 2022. Location: 47.977251, 38.313429.
The images that line up with this launch site were uploaded only minutes before the first reports
of strikes at Kramatorsk, so this is a good candidate for the location of the launch.
The location can be seen below, relative to the area of the strike.
Figure 6: Geographical look at launch location in respect to location of Kramatorsk.

Further evidence archived by CIR investigators shows the launch site, which matches the exact
location of where the smoke plumes were seen in the Sentinel imagery from 8 April. This footage
was geolocated by CIR investigators however the exact location has been withheld for safety
reasons.
Figure 7: At least two missiles seen in footage uploaded on the morning of April 8, 2022 from the location of the ash
pit [47.977251, 38.313429].
This footage in figure 7, showing the missile launch, and filmed on the same day at about the
same time as the strike on the Kramatorsk train station can be linked to the launch site seen in
the Sentinel satellite imagery from April 8 as seen below.

Figure 8: Indication of footage showing missiles launched and smoke plume seen in satellite imagery from 8 April,
2022.
The footage, showing the missile launch, was uploaded to Telegram at 10:25am Ukraine time,
and was archived on the Wayback Machine41
(note time difference by two hours due to UK time
archival of the web page). Screenshots of the post, as seen in figure 9, show two clear smoke
plumes from missiles being launched.
41
https://archive.ph/4ONGQ

Figure 9: Timestamp of footage [08:25am UK time] showing launch of missile one [left] and two [right].

Other launch sites
A second location, lining up with images from group 1, was identified in a field42
just south of
Khartsyzk.
Figure 10: Sentinel-2 image showing burning field, south of Khartsyzk, lining up with launch location group 1
[47.99681, 38.15878].
A false-colour rendering43
of this image, accentuating the near-infrared wavelengths, makes the
source of the smoke plume clear as a burning field.
42
https://sentinelshare.page.link/TyQp
43
https://sentinelshare.page.link/GdYq

Figure 11: Sentinel-2 image showing burning field south of Khartsyzk [47.99681, 38.15878].
CIR was also able to use this same satellite imagery to identify a third launch site related to activity
observed a day earlier, on 7 April.
Two images were published that day that showed similar rocket plumes to those seen before the
Kramatorsk attack:
• 10:43 am:
o Video published to social media of a launch trail originating from the area South-
east of Shakhtarsk44
.
44

Figure 12: image published on social media of a launch trail originating from the area South-east of Shakhtarsk,
Donetsk heading Northwest [in the direction of Kramatorsk]. Geolocated at the Zuivska power station [48.033028,
38.290222].
• 11:40 am:
o An image published to social media of a launch trail originating from a site in close
proximity to the village of Ternove, South-east of Shakhtarsk45
.
Using the same Sentinel satellite imagery collected on 8 April, CIR was able to verify the location
of this image as a field east of Shakhtarsk and South of Hirne.
45

Figure 13: Geolocation of missile launch from the field [47.99681, 38.15878].
Analysis of this area46
using the same Sentinel-2 satellite imagery collected the following day, on
8 April, revealed darkened areas of grass that were not present on a previous Sentinel-2 pass on
4 April - meaning these burn marks were likely created in the days between those dates.
This fits with an April 7 launch from this site.
46
https://sentinelshare.page.link/7Q9C

Figure 14: Sentinel image taken on 3 April showing no burn marks in the identified field [48.02386, 38.52871].
Figure 15: Sentinel image taken on 8 April, showing new burn marks, indicating possible launch site [48.02386,
38.52871].
All three of these locations are well within Russian-occupied territory. The westernmost of these
launch sites lies nearly 35 kilometers from the nearest Ukrainian-controlled territory since 2014.

5. Debunked: Russia claims the Tochka-U missiles are only being used
by Ukraine
The Russian Ministry of Defence denied responsibility for the Kramatorsk's strike on the train
station by stating: “Tochka-U tactical missiles are used by Ukrainian Armed Forces only”47
.
Open-source information shows evidence to the contrary. Russia does have Tochka-U missiles
in its arsenal, and some were marked with a ‘V’ symbol showing they were meant for use in
Ukraine.
Footage shared on 11 July by Belarusian Hajun Project shows a Tochka-U marked with a ‘Z’
symbol in the town of Lutuhyne in Luhansk Oblast, heading west48
. Tochka-U systems have also
been spotted in Melitopol49
.
Figure 16: Russian Tochka-U systems seen heading west in the town of Lutuhyne, Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine.
[48.399588, 39.195983].
47
https://www.facebook.com/mod.mil.rus/posts/pfbid025mJ3cdW1iV9cTRH65otgZi9vVMNUfUj8tNWfAJZtmxYuUXhrLKmVrtRBge1itr
UXl
48
https://twitter.com/MotolkoHelp/status/1546462058400604160?s=20&t=9vy4PX-rjv5pnHW5E-d32A
49
https://defence-blog.com/russian-tochka-u-ballistic-missiles-spotted-in-occupied-
melitopol/#:~:text=The%20Thocka%2DU%20is%20a,facilities%2C%20troop%20concentrations%20and%20airfields.

Figure 17: Geolocation of footage showing Russian Tochka-U systems seen heading west in the town of Lutuhyne,
Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine. [48.399588, 39.195983].
Despite Russia's denial of using Tochka-U missiles, content publicly shared on social media,
collected and verified by CIR investigators, shows Russian Tochka-U missiles in Lutuhyne,
Luhansk Oblast, a town which had already been under Russian occupation prior to the 2022
invasion.

6. Conclusion
User generated content, collected, geolocated and verified by CIR investigators shows three
launches of rockets, within the timeframe that the Kramatorsk train station was struck by a
Tochka-U missile, killing 59 civilians.
The plumes of smoke indicate a trajectory towards the Kramatorsk area and all three of these
launch locations are well within Russian-occupied territory.
The westernmost of these launch sites lies nearly 35 kilometres from the nearest Ukrainian-
controlled territory since 2014.
Despite Russia's denial of using Tochka-U missiles, open-source information shows evidence to
the contrary. Russia does indeed have Tochka-U missiles in its arsenal and were observed in
the Luhansk Oblast during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The open-source evidence collected and verified by CIR investigators points toward Russia being
the likely perpetrator of the missile strike killing 59 civilians at the Kramatorsk train station.

Verification of a Kramatorsk Train Station Bombing

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