Russian drone strike kills 5, injures 7 on passenger bus in Ukraine; Zelenskyy calls attack an 'atrocity'

A Russian drone strike on a passenger bus in the Nikopol district of Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region resulted in the deaths of five individuals and injuries to at least seven others.¹²

Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the regional military administration, confirmed that all five victims died at the scene, while the injured are receiving medical care.³

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack as an 'atrocity', highlighting its lack of military rationale and its connection to Russia's ongoing strikes on civilian infrastructure.⁴⁵

In a post on social media, Zelenskyy stated that the strike on the minibus was part of a broader pattern of attacks targeting logistics and critical infrastructure in Ukraine.

He also reported that a passenger train was struck in the Mykolaiv region, damaging a railway station and a diesel locomotive, although nearly 170 passengers were evacuated before the strike.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha noted that Russian strikes on Ukraine's rail network have damaged over 500 locomotives since the war began in February 2022, with more than half of those strikes occurring this year.

Sybiha described these attacks as 'systematic', aimed at disrupting logistics across Ukraine, and called for international assistance in replacing damaged locomotives.

He emphasized that these strikes are not collateral damage but a 'systematic hunt for people' and an attempt to paralyze civilian life.