Ukrainian rescue officials said a Russian glide bomb hit two civilian buses in Kramatorsk, killing at least 30 people and wounding 18. Three more died in nearby Bilenke.
A Russian glide-bomb strike on two civilian buses in Kramatorsk killed at least 30 people, Ukrainian rescue officials told the BBC on Thursday. Donetsk regional head Vadym Filashkin said 18 people were wounded. Authorities said three more people were killed in Bilenke, in the same community.
Filashkin accused Russia of aiming at buses carrying passengers. The BBC said local prosecutors posted images of a burned bus shell, debris and victims on the road. President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram that the strike would not go without a response and that Russia was trying to destroy life in Donbas.
Kramatorsk and Slovyansk sit in the belt of cities Moscow is trying to take as part of its claim to Donbas. The Washington Post reported at least 30 dead in the bus strike as Russian forces closed on that belt. Just Security, citing local authorities, put the toll at least 33 killed and 18 injured and said Zelensky described the site as a bus stop.
The counts differ slightly across outlets and may still be revised. All of the figures cited here come from Ukrainian officials, not from an independent forensic total. The BBC did not quote a Russian military statement on this strike.
Rescue work was continuing when the BBC published. No new air-defense delivery was announced in the same reports.
People Sentiments Negative
- Zelensky said the strike would not go without a response and called for a harsh reaction.
- Filashkin accused Russia of targeting buses to kill as many civilians as possible.