Russian Drone Strike on Dnipro Train Station Kills 14, Ukrainian Officials Say

At least 14 people were killed on Thursday, Oct. 29, when a Russian jet-powered drone struck a railway platform in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro where a commuter train and a passenger train were standing, according to Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration. "The number of fatalities from the Russian drone strike on the railway station in Dnipro has increased to 14," Hanzha wrote on Telegram, Interfax-Ukraine reported. Officials had earlier put the toll at 13.

Hanzha said 13 people were injured, four of them in grave condition: an 11-year-old boy, men aged 40 and 53, and a 26-year-old woman, according to Interfax-Ukraine. He said the remaining injured were in moderate condition and that all were in the hospital.

What happened at the station

Ukraine's state railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, said a jet-powered drone hit one of the platforms where train No. 866, running from Dnipro to Zaporizhzhia, was standing, Ukrainska Pravda and Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported. Zaporizhzhia is about a two-hour train journey to the south, according to DW.

Ukraine's Air Force said four Russian jet-powered drones attacked the area at around 11 a.m. local time and that air defenses downed three of them before they reached their targets, the Kyiv Independent reported. Law enforcement officers also said the strike was launched at around 11:00 and that the drone hit an electric train waiting at the platform, according to Ukrainska Pravda.

The railway operator said people were on the platform even though a heightened-danger warning had been issued. "Despite an increased threat warning, people were on the platform," the company said, according to DW. Ukrzaliznytsia chief executive Oleksandr Pertsovskyi said in a statement quoted by Ukrainska Pravda: "An air-raid warning had been issued, but unfortunately there was a significant number of people on the platform."

Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov said a civilian train had been hit. "A tragedy has occurred in Dnipro. A drone struck a passenger electric train," Filatov said on social media shortly after the attack, CNN reported. "Many people were killed. Many others were injured." Ukrainska Pravda reported that the mayor also urged that such strikes not be called "attacks on infrastructure facilities."

Zelensky calls for sanctions to stay in place

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the strike as "horrific," saying Russian forces had attacked a platform "where a regular commuter train and a regular passenger train were standing," Euronews reported. He said the attack showed that "fair and decisive actions by America and Europe are needed against Russian escalation," according to Euronews.

Zelensky also tied the strike to recent sanctions relief for Moscow. "Sanctions against Moscow and its war machine must not be eased for as long as this Russian war continues," he said, according to DW and CNN. CNN reported that U.S. President Donald Trump waived a slate of sanctions related to Russian fossil fuel sales earlier this month and announced he had agreed to allow Russian diesel exports to global energy markets. CNN also noted reports on Wednesday that Washington was in talks with the Kremlin to lift sanctions on Russia's sovereign wealth fund.

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed "deep concern" that Russia continues to "opt for escalation" by targeting civilians, DW reported. "Together, we must redouble our efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace and bring Russia to the negotiating table," Macron said on social media.

Ukraine's railways under repeated attack

The Dnipro strike is the latest in a series of Russian attacks on Ukraine's rail network. With commercial air travel in Ukraine shut down during the war, the railway has become essential for moving people and goods and for entering and leaving the country, DW reported. Ukrzaliznytsia told the AFP news agency that more than 5,800 trains had to be evacuated in September alone because of the threat of strikes, according to DW and Euronews.

The Kyiv Independent reported that Russia's use of jet-powered drones against railway facilities has led to strict rules during air raid alerts, with passengers often evacuated from trains in the countryside for hours until the all-clear. Passengers waiting at stations are likewise told to leave trains, the outlet reported.

Other strikes and upcoming talks

Russian forces also attacked other Ukrainian cities on Thursday. Around noon, Banderol cruise missiles struck the center of Chernihiv in northern Ukraine, killing two 15-year-old girls, regional governor Viacheslav Chaus said, according to the Kyiv Independent. City administration head Dmytro Bryzhynskyi said at least 23 people were injured there, including four children. In Kremenchuk, in Poltava Oblast, Russian drones struck an apartment building, killing at least three people and injuring 15, according to local authorities cited by the Kyiv Independent.

Overnight, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said "613 UAVs flew towards the Moscow region" between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, adding that 231 drones were destroyed on the approach to the capital, Euronews and RTÉ reported. Zelensky said on Sunday that Ukraine, the United States and Russia are set to hold trilateral talks in November in a bid to revive stalled peace negotiations, Euronews reported.