Russian Drones Hit Ukrainian Bus and Train, Killing Five

Russian drones struck a passenger bus and a train in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing five people and underscoring Moscow’s campaign against civilian transport links, Ukrainian officials said. According to Reuters, the attack on a bus near the front-line city of Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region killed four men and a woman early Wednesday, with seven others wounded.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the strike “another act of brutality” with “no military logic,” urging the United States and Europe to toughen sanctions on Russia. An Associated Press report carried the same toll and quoted Zelenskiy describing the vehicle as a minibus tied to Russia’s broader assault on logistics and critical infrastructure.

Separately, a Russian drone hit a passenger train in the Mykolaiv region. Acting regional governor Heorhii Reshetilov said all 168 passengers and crew were evacuated and no one was injured, though the train was attacked again after the first strike. Zelenskiy also said a locomotive in Kovel, near the Polish border, was hit.

With Ukrainian airspace closed since 2022, buses and trains remain essential for civilians and commerce. Ukraine’s state rail operator told Reuters that Russia has attacked about 1,700 railway facilities so far this year, up from 1,206 in 2025. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said strikes on passenger trains, locomotives, and stations amount to “a systematic hunt for people” aimed at paralyzing civilian life.

There was no immediate comment from Russia on the Nikopol bus attack. Both sides deny deliberately targeting civilians in the war that began with Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.