Twelve people have been killed and seven injured after a Russian drone struck a bus in Ukraine’s Pavlohrad district, regional authorities have confirmed.
Oleksandr Hanzha, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, reported the casualties following the attack in the southeastern area of the country. The strike targeted the civilian vehicle, causing multiple fatalities amongst passengers.
The bus attack occurred during a night of widespread Russian drone operations across Ukraine. The country’s air force stated that Russia launched 90 attack drones overnight, with 14 successfully striking nine separate locations.
Mr Hanzha also confirmed earlier that a woman and a man were killed in separate overnight strikes on the eastern city of Dnipro, elsewhere in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The broader assault affected multiple areas of Ukraine, with a maternity hospital in Zaporizhzhia and civilian areas in Kherson also sustaining damage. Regional administration head Ivan Fedorov reported six women were wounded when a drone hit the medical facility, sparking a fire in the gynaecology reception area.
The bus strike in Pavlohrad district represents one of the deadliest single incidents from the overnight wave of attacks. Civilian vehicles travelling on public roads have increasingly become targets in the conflict, with passengers vulnerable to aerial assault.
Ukrainian air defence systems intercepted the majority of the 90 drones deployed during the operation, though those that penetrated defences caused casualties across widely separated population centres.
Emergency services are treating the seven wounded survivors from the bus attack whilst authorities work to identify the victims and notify families. The Dnipropetrovsk regional administration continues coordinating response efforts in affected areas.
Details regarding the specific route the bus was travelling or the time of the strike have not been disclosed. Authorities have not released information about whether the vehicle was carrying commuters or long-distance passengers.
The incident adds to mounting civilian casualties in the Dnipropetrovsk region, which has faced repeated attacks throughout the conflict due to its strategic location in southeastern Ukraine.
