Five people were killed and at least seven wounded Wednesday when a Russian drone struck a passenger vehicle in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region as additional attacks damaged trains, locomotives and railway facilities across the country.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A Russian drone struck a passenger bus in southern Ukraine early Wednesday, killing five people and wounding at least seven as Ukrainian officials reported additional attacks on the country’s rail network and civilian infrastructure.
The bus was hit in the Nikopol district of the Dnipropetrovsk region near the southern front line, according to Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the regional military administration.
Hanzha said all five victims died at the scene. At least seven injured passengers were receiving medical treatment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the vehicle as a minibus and called the attack an “atrocity.”
Zelenskyy said the strike had “no military rationale” and linked it to what he described as Russia’s continuing campaign against Ukrainian logistics and critical infrastructure, which he said had continued “unabated.”
The bus strike came as Ukrainian authorities reported attacks on railway infrastructure in several parts of the country Wednesday.
Zelenskyy said a passenger train was targeted in the southern Mykolaiv region, damaging a railway station and a diesel locomotive. Nearly 170 passengers aboard the train were evacuated before the strike, according to the president.
An electric locomotive was also struck in Kovel, a city in northwestern Ukraine, Zelenskyy said.
The attacks add to mounting damage reported across Ukraine’s railway system since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Tuesday that more than 500 locomotives have been damaged or completely destroyed by Russian strikes since the start of the war. More than half of that damage has occurred this year, he said.
Sybiha characterized the attacks as “systematic” and said they were intended to interfere with transportation and logistics nationwide.
He called for international assistance in replacing damaged locomotives, specifically seeking equipment compatible with Ukraine’s 1,520-millimeter rail gauge as well as financial assistance to acquire replacement equipment.
Sybiha expanded on those concerns Wednesday, saying Russian forces were repeatedly attacking passenger trains, locomotives, railway stations and tracks while understanding their importance to the civilian population and the broader economy.
“This is not collateral damage. It is a systematic hunt for people and an attempt to paralyse civilian life,” he wrote.
Additional damage was reported around Kyiv between Tuesday and Wednesday morning.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv regional military administration, said 17 locations were damaged during the period. The affected sites included eight private homes, five vehicles, a municipal building, a hangar and a production facility.
Zelenskyy also reported attacks in the Kherson, Donetsk and Poltava regions.
The renewed strikes came as questions persisted over whether Ukraine and Russia had reached any agreement limiting attacks on energy infrastructure.
In an interview with CBS News on Tuesday, Zelenskyy disputed an earlier statement by U.S. President Donald Trump that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to halt attacks on one another’s energy facilities.
Trump said Monday that an energy truce had been reached but did not provide details about the terms or implementation of such an agreement.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine remained willing to participate in an energy ceasefire if Russia stopped attacking Ukrainian energy facilities.
He said the subject had been discussed during a recent meeting in Kyiv with Trump representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
“If the Russians are ready for an energy truce, that means there will be no attacks on energy facilities at all,” Zelenskyy said he told them.
Previous attempts to establish limited ceasefires have repeatedly broken down, sometimes within hours, with Russia and Ukraine accusing each other of violations.
Wednesday’s reported attacks on transportation infrastructure occurred against that uncertain diplomatic backdrop, with Ukrainian officials continuing to distinguish between proposed restrictions on energy strikes and the broader fighting that remains underway.
Russia also reported Ukrainian attacks during the same period.
The Russian Defense Ministry said air-defense forces intercepted and destroyed 71 Ukrainian drones overnight.
In Russia’s Belgorod region, acting Gov. Alexander Shuvayev said one person was killed and four others were injured in Ukrainian strikes over the previous 24 hours.
The competing attacks underscore the continued intensity of the war despite discussions about limited ceasefires and possible restrictions on specific categories of targets.
For Ukraine, railway infrastructure has become an increasingly important focus as officials report hundreds of damaged locomotives and warn that attacks on trains, stations and tracks are affecting civilian transportation, evacuations and economic activity.
Wednesday’s strike in the Nikopol district added a passenger vehicle directly to that toll, leaving five people dead at the scene and at least seven others wounded as attacks continued across multiple regions.
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