Russian forces launched a glide‑bomb strike on two civilian buses in the frontline city of Kramatorsk, killing 33 people and wounding 18, rescue officials said.
Images from local prosecutors show a scorched bus shell, scattered debris, and survivors on the road, underscoring the brutality of the strike.
Kramatorsk, together with nearby Slovyansk, forms a “fortress belt” that Russia seeks to capture as part of its claim over the Donbas industrial region.
The attack follows a surge in Russian air raids that have exploded civilian casualties across Ukraine, with sirens ringing in Kyiv as fighters descend.
The United Nations reports that Ukrainian civilians killed by August 2026 exceed those killed in all of 2025, illustrating the war’s escalating toll.
In a separate strike earlier this week, a five‑storey block of flats in Pryluky east of Kyiv was destroyed, killing 22 people, including five children.
Vadym Filashkin urged residents of Donetsk region to move to safer areas and stopped all public transport operations, stating that civilian safety outweighs any strategic gain.
Russian leaders justify the invasion as a “liberation” of the predominantly Russian‑speaking Donbas, yet the region remains a contested battleground with most of Luhansk under Russian control and 20% of Donetsk still held by Ukraine.
Zelensky posted a condolence message on Telegram, demanding that Ukraine’s partners provide concrete defence packages to safeguard civilians from such attacks.
