Russian strikes kill 20 across Ukraine, 14 dead in Dnipro railway station attack

Russian drone and missile attacks killed at least 20 people across Ukraine on Thursday. The barrage coincided with a US-brokered Kherson truce enabling humanitarian relief.

In Short

• Russian drone and missile strikes killed at least 20 people across Ukraine on Thursday
• 14 died at Dnipro railway station in a jet-powered drone attack
• Kyiv hit by late-night missile strike, killing one person

Russian drone and missile attacks killed at least 20 people across Ukraine on Thursday, including 14 on a crowded railway platform in the eastern city of Dnipro, as strikes also hit residential areas in other cities and killed one person in the capital, Kyiv, officials said.

The attacks came as a six-day, US-brokered local truce in the southern Kherson region offered a limited opening for humanitarian relief and renewed hopes of diplomatic engagement. However, the strikes elsewhere underscored the continuing threat to civilians as efforts to revive peace talks gained momentum.

"Russia is deliberately hunting civilians: on trains, at stations, in residential buildings," Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergiy Koretskyi said on Telegram.

"There is no justification for this terror, and there never can be."

14 KILLED IN STRIKE ON DNIPRO RAILWAY STATION

Ukraine's state railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, said a jet-powered drone struck a platform at Dnipro's main railway station as a commuter train was preparing to leave. At least 14 people were killed in the attack.

The aftermath was grim, with bodies lying across pavement marked by shrapnel and patches of blood visible on the ground. Police placed the victims in black body bags as air-raid sirens sounded.

"And for what? What goal are they (Russians) trying to achieve?" said Svitlana Shcherbak, 67, told Reuters while taking shelter underground at the station. "I don't understand it at all."

Another strike in Dnipro hit a student dormitory and set it on fire, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said. The day's attacks also disrupted electricity supplies to 350,000 households in the city, he added.

KYIV HIT BY LATE-NIGHT MISSILE STRIKE

A missile attack struck districts of Kyiv shortly before 11 pm (2100 GMT), killing one person, the city's military administration said. Warehouses caught fire, while falling debris damaged a building on the eastern side of the Dnipro River.

Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had condemned the attacks as "very cruel" and "deliberate when everyone expects de-escalation steps".

Zelenskyy also warned that Ukraine had intelligence "about preparations by the Russians of new ballistic missile strikes. We need the means to take out all this Russian evil. We are expecting relevant decisions."

TEENAGERS AMONG DEAD IN OTHER CITIES

In the northern city of Chernihiv, two teenage girls were killed in a drone attack on a busy street in the city centre. Another 23 people, including four children, were wounded, officials said.

"Ordinary, peaceful people were attacked who were just going to work, going about their daily business, making plans for the day," said Dmytro Bryzhynskyi, head of Chernihiv's military administration.

In the central city of Kremenchuk, Russian strikes on a residential apartment block and private buildings killed three people and wounded 32, the regional governor said.

Russian drones also struck city buses in three separate attacks in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, injuring six people, officials said.

Russia's expanding bombing campaign has repeatedly killed civilians and damaged infrastructure across Ukraine. Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians.

LOCAL TRUCE ALLOWS HUMANITARIAN OPERATION IN KHERSON

The six-day truce, brokered with US assistance, applies only to Ukraine's southern Kherson region. It enabled preparations for a humanitarian operation to deliver assistance to the Russian-held town of Oleshky, which has been cut off in a war zone since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.

Both sides issued near-identical statements saying de-mining operations had been completed, allowing the relief mission to proceed. The operation is intended to bring aid into Oleshky and enable residents to leave if they wish.

Elsewhere, Russian drone and missile strikes on critical infrastructure, including the railway network, have disrupted daily life and inflicted damage on Ukraine's economy. The attacks have also taken advantage of an acute shortage of air defence missiles.

PEACE TALKS EXPECTED NEXT MONTH

Thursday's attacks came as efforts continued to revive US-backed negotiations to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two.

A new round of trilateral talks is expected next month. Ukrainian officials, including top presidential adviser Kyrylo Budanov, have urged Kyiv's partners to increase pressure on Moscow.

- Ends
With inputs from Reuters