Russia denies missile strike on Kramatorsk railway station

MOSCOW/KYIV -- The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said it did not launch any "rocket attack" on a railway station in the city of Kramatorsk, which local authorities said had killed at least 39 people.

Allegations by the Ukrainian side that Russia carried out the attack are " provocation and absolutely untrue," the ministry said in a statement.

"On April 8, the Russian armed forces did not have any firing missions in the city of Kramatorsk," it said.

The Russian Defense Ministry's statement noted that the Tochka-U tactical missile system is not operational in "the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics" or in Russia but is actively used by the Ukrainian military.

At least 39 people, including four children, were killed Friday in the attack, which targeted a railway station in Kramatorsk town in Donetsk, spokesman for Ukraine's Security Service Artem Dekhtyarenko said earlier Friday.

Meanwhile, head of the Donetsk military-civilian administration Pavlo Kyrylenko said at least 87 people were injured in the attack.