At least 30 individuals were killed and 18 wounded on Thursday after Russian forces launched a glide bomb attack on two passenger buses in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk. The Donetsk regional prosecutor’s office confirmed the casualties, stating that the death toll has risen to 30. Following the attack, the regional governor’s office announced the suspension of public transport in the area.
Kramatorsk remains one of the few major cities in the Donetsk region that has not fallen to Russian troops. It serves as a critical logistics hub for the Ukrainian military and is part of what Kyiv refers to as its “fortress belt.” Russian forces have recently advanced toward the city’s eastern outskirts, prompting officials to urge civilians still residing there to relocate to safer parts of Ukraine.
The city council condemned the attack as “yet another horrific crime committed by the Russian army against the civilian population,” asserting that no military targets were present at the location. The strike occurred at 10:00 am local time, just one day after a Russian missile hit an apartment block in Chernigiv, killing 22 people, including five children.
In a significant development on the same day, Ukrainian drones caused a fire at a data centre belonging to Yandex, Russia’s largest technology company, located in the Sasovo district of the Ryazan region, approximately 300 kilometres east of Moscow. This marks the first reported drone strike of its kind on Russian infrastructure.
A Yandex spokesperson confirmed to AFP that the attack disrupted operations, causing a complete stoppage of the data centre and potential outages for some services. However, there were no reports of casualties. Pavel Malkov, the governor of the Ryazan region, stated that two Ukrainian drones were intercepted overnight, but one struck a business building, resulting in a fire.
Andriy Kovalenko, the former head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, posted an image on Telegram purporting to show the aftermath of the strike. He wrote, “Two can play at this game,” suggesting Kyiv’s responsibility for the action.
Additionally, Ukraine’s military reported striking the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Russia’s Bashkortostan region, which sparked a fire. These incidents highlight an escalation in long-range strikes between the two nations, with both sides increasingly targeting energy and technology infrastructure in recent months.
This back-and-forth is terrifying. When does it end? We need peace, not just more fireworks.
Two can play at this game indeed. Retaliating against infrastructure was long overdue after these barbaric bus strikes.
Is Yandex really a legitimate military target? Striking a tech hub feels like a major escalation in scope.
Thirty lives lost on public buses is absolutely heartbreaking. The civilians of Kramatorsk just want safety.