Russian drones hit Ukrainian bus and train, killing five, officials say

Russian drones struck a passenger bus and a train in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, resulting in five deaths, according to Ukrainian officials. The attack came amid Moscow's continued strikes on transport infrastructure. A photo posted on Telegram by a regional governor depicted a bus with shattered windows and a trail of blood. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the attack, calling it "brutality" and urging the U.S. and Europe to escalate sanctions against Russia.

The drone assault on the bus near the frontline city of Nikopol claimed the lives of four men and a woman, while seven others sustained injuries. The governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, Oleksandr Hanzha, shared the photo, which has not been independently verified by Reuters. Russia has not commented on the incident.

Additionally, a drone targeted a passenger train in Ukraine's southern Mykolaiv region, but all 168 passengers and crew were successfully evacuated without any casualties. The train was struck twice more following the initial attack. The same day, a locomotive near the border with Poland also came under drone attack.

President Zelenskiy further detailed other recent drone attacks, including one on a train near the Ukrainian-Polish border that occurred shortly after European diplomats and politicians had used the same route. Russia has intensified its assaults on Ukrainian railways, targeting 120 passenger cars, 304 locomotives, and 43 railway stations this year, according to the state rail operator.

Russia has launched 1,700 attacks on railway facilities since the beginning of the year, surpassing the 1,206 attacks in 2025 and 842 in 2024. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha emphasized that these strikes are not collateral damage, but rather a deliberate attempt to disrupt civilian life and cripple the economy.