Ukraine Warupdated 1h ago2 min read
Archive photo · 29 August 2020Russian Drone Strike Kills At Least 14 At Dnipro Train Station
“US President Donald Trump waived a slate of sanctions related to Russian fossil fuel sales earlier this month”
“He also questioned the decision to ease certain sanctions on Russia’s energy sector, arguing that Moscow had continued its attacks rather than de-escalating.”
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Russian jet-powered drone struck a crowded Dnipro station platform, killing fourteen and injuring many. Toll reported: at least fourteen dead and around fourteen wounded.
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Dnipro station hit
Russian forces killed at least 14 people when a jet-powered drone struck a crowded platform at the main railway station in Dnipro, as people waited to board a train preparing to leave for Zaporizhzhia. Oleksandr Hanzha said at least 14 others were wounded, including an 11-year-old boy, and Ukrzaliznytsia said a passenger train headed for Zaporizhzhia was on the platform when the drone hit.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack “horrific,” and he said “the Russians used a drone to attack a platform where a regular commuter train and a regular passenger train were standing.” Ukrzaliznytsia said an elevated threat level was announced ahead of Thursday’s strike, but “But unfortunately there were still a large number of people on the platform” when the drone struck.
Ceasefire and sanctions
Zelenskyy linked the Dnipro strike to the wider effort to uphold a fragile ceasefire in the besieged city of Oleshky, saying the attacks were “deliberate strikes against civilians, brazen in their cruelty.” Zelenskyy also urged allies to apply “appropriate pressure on the aggressor,” while CNN reported that Russia and Ukraine had since Tuesday been observing a ceasefire in the southern region of Kherson brokered by first lady Melania Trump to allow humanitarian aid into Oleshky.
Ukrzaliznytsia said a general air alarm was announced at the station and that evacuation of the electric train bound for Zaporizhzhia began with “more than 10 minutes before the strike,” but it added that “a group of people remained in close proximity to the train at the moment of the strike.” French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Russia’s “escalation” and said it was “intolerable that Russia continues to reject all proposals to this end, choosing instead to pursue escalation and target civilians,” as he urged more than a localized ceasefire like the one negotiated for Oleshky.
Wider toll and next steps
Authorities reported that Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least 19 people on Thursday, including 14 at the Dnipro platform, and the BBC said two girls aged 15 were killed in Chernihiv. In Kremenchuk, authorities said a Russian drone attack hit residential buildings and a school, killing three people and injuring 28, while Al Jazeera said the Dnipro strike reflected a rise in attacks on Ukraine’s transport infrastructure.
“Stations across the country, platforms, and every train—whether long-distance or suburban—are today’s priority targets for the foe.”
Ukrzaliznytsia said it would review threat-response protocols in detail after the attack and called on passengers to listen carefully to announcements and follow railway staff instructions, warning that stations, platforms, and trains remain “today’s priority targets for the foe.” The Kyiv Independent said the Dnipro attack came as Ukraine and Russia strove to uphold a fragile local ceasefire in Oleshky, and it quoted Zelenskyy writing that “The Russians used a drone to attack a platform where a regular commuter train and a regular passenger train were standing.”