Evacuation under way in Odesa region, 15 buses deployed to transport passengers – authorities

Evacuation efforts in Odesa region continue following a Russian strike on passenger trains, as reported by Oleh Kiper, Head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration. By 16:00, 525 passengers, including 130 children, have been safely evacuated from the area. An additional 15 buses have been mobilized to transport more individuals to secure locations. Tragically, one child sustained an injury, and medical aid was provided on-site by Kiper, as announced via his Telegram channel.

On Thursday, August 13, Russian forces targeted Ukrzaliznytsia rolling stock twice in the Odesa region. In the early hours, a jet-powered drone struck the locomotive of a passenger train, resulting in the presumed deaths of the engineer and his assistant. Despite the threat, the crew managed to evacuate 340 passengers and the train personnel without any casualties. All were safely removed from the train, and no passengers or crew were injured.

The Prosecutor General's Office has launched a pretrial investigation into potential war crimes, as stated by the office. Later, Russian forces launched a second drone attack on a diesel locomotive performing shunting operations in a track section similar to the site of the first attack. The crew had been warned beforehand, and again, no casualties were reported.

Oleksandr Pertsovsky, Chairman of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia, noted that the company is collaborating with regional military administrations to facilitate bus transportation for evacuating passengers.