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Deadly drone attack hits passenger bus in eastern Ukraine
Seven people died and 11 others were injured early Wednesday when a drone struck a passenger bus traveling through Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine's Donetsk region, local officials reported.
Incident details
Denis Pushilin, the Kremlin-appointed leader of Donetsk, stated the bus was en route from Moscow to Simferopol in occupied Crimea when it was hit near Yenakiyevo. All victims were civilians, and the injured were receiving medical treatment, he added.
Broader wave of attacks
The strike occurred amid a surge of Russian drone and missile assaults across Ukraine. On Tuesday, at least 22 people, including women and children, were killed in one of the largest bombardments since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed strikes on an oil terminal in St. Petersburg, describing them as "long-range sanctions." The city is hosting the annual International Economic Forum, where Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to speak Friday.
Russian and Ukrainian responses
Russia claimed to have intercepted 350 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 50 over the Leningrad region, which encompasses St. Petersburg. Pulkovo Airport briefly restricted flights following the attacks, according to Russian aviation authorities.
Zelensky reported Ukrainian forces also targeted military sites in Russia's Tambov region. Meanwhile, an 86-year-old woman was killed in a separate drone attack in Ukraine's Kherson region, local officials said.
Propaganda and justifications
Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's disinformation combat center, accused Russia of fabricating a "parallel reality" to justify civilian attacks. He told the BBC that Moscow's propaganda aims to portray Ukraine as the aggressor while deflecting blame for its own strikes.
"Russia attacks civilians with drones all the time... Against this background of attacks on our civilians, they come up with stories in which Ukraine acts just like Russia. This is done to justify their own terror as a response to our actions."
Andriy Kovalenko, Ukrainian government official
Escalating conflict
The Kremlin framed the strikes as retaliation for a Ukrainian attack on a student dormitory in occupied eastern Ukraine last month, which Kyiv denied. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov vowed the assaults would continue, insisting they targeted military infrastructure.
Ukraine's air force reported shooting down 189 of 198 Russian drones launched overnight, part of a broader offensive involving over 700 missiles and drones in the past 48 hours.
