Russia and Ukraine have intensified drone and missile attacks in recent months, even as Moscow and Kyiv prepare to resume US-mediated peace talks next month.
At least 14 people were killed after a Russian drone struck a platform at a railway station in the central-eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro where a train was standing, authorities said on Thursday.
“13 people were killed in a Russian attack on Dnipro. At least five more were wounded,” Dnipropetrovsk regional governor Oleksandr Ganzha said on Telegram.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the strike as “horrific”, saying Russian forces had attacked a platform “where a regular commuter train and a regular passenger train were standing”.
Ukraine’s national police put the number of injured at at least 10.
Oleksandr Pertsovsky, head of Ukrainian Railways, said a heightened threat alert had been issued before the attack.
“But unfortunately there were still a large number of people on the platform,” he wrote on Facebook.
This is not the first time Russian drone strikes have disrupted Ukraine’s railway network. In September alone, passengers were evacuated from more than 5,800 train services due to the threat of Russian drone attacks, the national railway operator told AFP.
Meanwhile, more than 600 Ukrainian drones were launched towards the Moscow region overnight, most of which were shot down, according to the Russian capital’s mayor, as the city hosts a Russia-Africa summit.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram that “613 UAVs flew towards the Moscow region” between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
“Most were neutralised by the Defence Ministry’s air defence forces on the distant approaches. 231 drones were destroyed on the approach to Moscow,” he added.
Zelenskyy said the Russian drone strike on Dnipro showed that “fair and decisive actions by America and Europe are needed against Russian escalation”.
The Ukrainian president has also strongly criticised an agreement reached earlier this month between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to ease certain sanctions on Moscow, allowing Russia to supply diesel to global markets.
He had said on Sunday that Ukraine, the US and Russia are set to hold trilateral talks in November in a bid to revive stalled peace negotiations.
Source: www.euronews.com
