A Russian drone strike on a busy railway platform in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday morning killed at least 13 to 14 people and wounded more than a dozen, officials said, underscoring ongoing violence across the country despite localized ceasefire efforts. The attack targeted a platform where two passenger trains were stationed, injuring commuters and prompting condemnation from Ukrainian authorities.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky described the strike as a “horrific” attack and reiterated calls for continued sanctions against Russia. He emphasized that Moscow’s actions demonstrated a clear intent to prolong the conflict. Ukraine’s air force reported that four jet-powered drones were launched in the area; three were intercepted, but one struck the station. Oleksandr Perstovsky, head of Ukraine Railways, confirmed that an elevated threat level had been issued prior to the attack but that many people remained on the platform.
The strike came amid a fragile truce holding in the southern Ukrainian city of Oleshky, occupied by Russian forces since 2022, where humanitarian aid and evacuation efforts have been underway. Both sides confirmed the ceasefire was in effect. Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets traveled with a delegation to Oleshky through Belarus and Russia as part of the operation.
In addition to the Dnipro attack, other Russian drone and missile strikes targeted multiple Ukrainian cities on Thursday. In Chernihiv, north of Kyiv, two 15-year-old girls were killed and more than a dozen civilians were wounded in an assault on the city center, according to Dmytro Bryzhalynsky, head of the city’s military administration. A separate strike on residential buildings in the central city of Kremenchuk resulted in three deaths and dozens of injuries. Officials in Zaporizhzhia reported drone attacks on city buses that wounded six people.
Ukrainian officials condemned the strikes as deliberate attacks on civilians. Prime Minister Sergiy Koretskyi accused Russia of intentionally targeting trains, stations, and residential areas. Residents in Dnipro expressed shock and confusion over the assault, with eyewitness accounts describing scenes of devastation on the platform.
Despite denials from Moscow about targeting non-military sites, Russia’s defense ministry claimed to have shot down over 1,200 Ukrainian drones overnight, including more than 600 near Moscow and its surroundings. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov described the timing of the Dnipro attack—during a summit Moscow hosted with African leaders—as “very strange” and justified Russia’s ongoing military campaign in Ukraine.
The attack highlights the vulnerability of Ukraine’s rail infrastructure, which has been a critical logistical lifeline throughout the conflict due to many airports being closed. The intensified Russian campaign on transportation networks has forced frequent evacuations and significant disruptions, with over 500 trains reportedly damaged or destroyed since the invasion began in February 2022.
Meanwhile, efforts to revive peace talks continue, with new three-way negotiations anticipated later this month. Ukrainian officials, including presidential adviser Kyrylo Budanov, have called for increased international pressure on Moscow to pursue de-escalation.
The juxtaposition of deadly attacks across Ukraine with a localized truce in Kherson’s Oleshky region illustrates the complex and ongoing challenges facing the war-torn country as it navigates both conflict and diplomacy.