A Russian drone strike on a passenger bus in southern Ukraine killed five people and injured at least seven on Wednesday, officials said. The attack occurred in the Nikopol district of Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, near the frontline in the ongoing conflict. Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the regional military administration, confirmed the casualties and said the injured were receiving medical care.
The strike on the minibus was condemned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who described it as an “atrocity” and characterized the targeting of civilian transportation as part of a broader Russian campaign against Ukraine’s logistics and critical infrastructure. Zelenskyy emphasized that the attack had “no military rationale” and highlighted ongoing efforts by Russia to disrupt the civilian life and economy of Ukraine.
Separately, Ukrainian authorities reported a Russian drone strike on a passenger train on the route between Kyiv and Mykolaiv. According to Zelenskyy, nearly 170 passengers were evacuated safely before the train caught fire. Additional railway infrastructure was also targeted on Wednesday, including an electric locomotive in the northwestern city of Kovel. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the attacks on the rail network as systematic and deliberate attempts to paralyze logistics essential for civilian evacuations and economic activity. Since the start of the conflict in February 2022, over 500 locomotives have reportedly been damaged or destroyed, with more than half of those losses occurring this year alone.
Amid the escalations, Sybiha called on international partners to assist Ukraine in replacing the damaged railway equipment, specifying the need for locomotives compatible with Ukraine’s 1,520-millimeter rail gauge, along with financial support.
In the broader context of the war, Zelenskyy pushed back against claims by former U.S. President Donald Trump that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to mutually cease attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure. Zelenskyy reiterated that an energy ceasefire would be contingent on Russia halting strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities. He noted that discussions regarding a possible truce had taken place during a recent meeting in Kyiv with Trump’s representatives, but stressed that any such agreement would require a full cessation of attacks on energy infrastructure by Russia.
Meanwhile, the deputy head of the Russian armed forces’ military-political department, Lt. Gen. Apti Alaudinov, confirmed that a senior Russian general had been killed in the occupied Donetsk region by a Ukrainian drone strike.
Ukrainian officials also reported new Russian attacks on warehouses in other regions, with one person injured in the course of these strikes. The elevated targeting of civilian transportation and infrastructure reflects an intensification of efforts by Russian forces to disrupt logistical networks amid ongoing hostilities.