Ukrainian Drone Strike Kills Eight on Bus in Russian-Controlled Donetsk, Denis Pushilin Says

A Ukrainian drone hit a passenger bus in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region of Ukraine, killing eight people and injuring 10 others, the Kremlin-installed head of the region Denis Pushilin said on Wednesday.

“At least eight people have been killed and 10 others injured after a drone hit a bus in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region of Ukraine, as both sides escalate attacks”

Al Jazeera

Pushilin said the bus was travelling between Moscow and Simferopol in Crimea, while Al Jazeera reported the attack as part of a broader escalation as both sides intensified strikes.

Al Jazeera

The BBC said Russia opened a criminal case into what it described as a "terrorist attack" on civilians, with spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko saying authorities were working to establish identities.

In parallel, the BBC reported that black smoke rose over Russia’s second largest city of St Petersburg, where Zelensky confirmed an oil terminal had been hit as the annual International Economic Forum hosted by Putin continued.

The Times of India said Zelensky described the St Petersburg strikes as part of Ukraine’s strategy of "long-range sanctions" aimed at Russian military and energy infrastructure, as the city prepared for Putin’s flagship economic forum.

NATO chief Mark Rutte arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday for an unannounced trip and said Russia was growing desperate as it faced mounting military and economic difficulties, warning that "Russia’s recklessness is not new" while Zelensky hailed overnight strikes on St Petersburg as a "fair" response.

Zelensky told reporters, "I believe these are fair strikes. Just a day ago, there was a massive attack. We responded accordingly," as he threatened to further ramp up Kyiv’s retaliatory hits.

BBC

The BBC reported that when asked whether Kyiv was behind the bus attack, Ukraine’s general staff did not confirm nor deny but said it would not comment "on statements made by the aggressor state".

Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian government’s centre for combating disinformation, told the BBC that Russian state propaganda creates a "parallel reality," saying, "Russia attacks civilians with drones all the time..."

The BBC also said Russia claimed it shot down 350 Ukrainian drones overnight, including at least 50 over the Leningrad region, while Zelensky wrote on X that "Important facilities on Russian territory were hit last night."

The drone escalation unfolded as Russia’s Ministry of Defence reported that overnight, 354 Ukrainian drones were "intercepted and destroyed" over multiple regions, while Al Jazeera said suspected attacks were continuing to be repelled after 50 drones were shot down over the Leningrad region overnight.

“- Published Eight people have been killed and 10 others injured after a drone hit a passenger bus travelling through a Russian-occupied part of Ukraine, Russia has said”

BBC

In St Petersburg, Al Jazeera’s Yulia Shapovalova reported that 59 drones were shot down and that a fire broke out at an oil terminal in the Kirovsky district, with flight restrictions imposed several times at Polkava airports nearby.

The BBC said the strikes disrupted operations at St Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport, with Rosaviatsia reporting temporary restrictions on flights, as Putin was due to speak there on Friday.

In Ukraine, the BBC reported that an 86-year-old woman was killed in the southern Kherson region after a drone attack overnight, while Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 198 drones at several different regions, 189 of which were shot down.

Looking ahead, the BBC said Russia’s defence ministry described its latest wave as a response to previous Ukrainian attacks and claimed the "strike objectives" had all been achieved, as the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that the "systematic strikes" would continue.