SRINAGAR: At least 30 people were killed and 18 others injured after a Russian strike hit public transport in Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, according to Ukrainian officials, as the BBC reported a series of deadly Russian attacks across the country.
Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin, cited by Ukrainian media, said the strike hit public transport in Kramatorsk. He initially put the toll at 12 dead and 14 injured before later revising the figures to 30 fatalities and 18 wounded. Filashkin accused Russian forces of deliberately targeting civilians.
Filashkin also ordered public transport services to be suspended in Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, citing a sharp deterioration in the security situation. Ukrainian authorities said an apartment building was also damaged in the strike.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack struck an area used by public transport and appealed to Ukraine’s international partners for additional military assistance, including anti-ballistic capabilities, ammunition and interceptors.
The Kramatorsk attack came a day after a Russian missile strike on Pryluky in the northern Chernihiv region. Chernihiv Governor Vyacheslav Chaus said the death toll from Wednesday’s attack had reached 22, including five children, while more than 50 people were injured. Chaus also reported another strike on Chernihiv, the regional capital, later that day.
Zelenskyy said search and rescue operations in Pryluky had been completed and claimed that Russian strikes had caused destruction across 10 Ukrainian regions.
Ukraine’s Air Force said its air-defence systems had shot down 126 of 142 Russian attack drones launched overnight. Russian authorities had not commented on the claim.
Separately, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said three people were killed and 14 injured in Russian strikes on the capital. Eight of those wounded were taken to hospital, he said.
Russia and Ukraine have intensified aerial attacks in recent months, with logistics facilities, ports and energy infrastructure among the reported targets. Both sides deny deliberately targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure, maintaining that their strikes are directed at military targets or facilities connected with military activity.
