At least 33 people have been killed after a Russian glide bomb struck two civilian buses in Kramatorsk, a frontline city in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
Donetsk regional head Vadym Filashkin said another 18 people were wounded in the attack, accusing Russian forces of targeting a passenger bus to cause mass civilian casualties.
Ukrainian rescue officials said the attack caused both buses to catch fire while they were carrying passengers.
Images released by local prosecutors showed the burned remains of a bus, debris scattered across the road and victims at the scene.
Russian authorities have not commented on the latest attack.
The strike comes amid a sharp increase in Russian attacks across Ukraine and a rise in civilian casualties.
The United Nations has said more civilians were killed in Ukraine by August 2026 than were killed throughout 2025.
Earlier this week, 22 people, including five children, were killed when a Russian strike destroyed a five-storey residential building in Pryluky, east of Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed condolences to the victims’ families and called on Ukraine’s international partners to provide additional defence support.
Following the latest attack, Filashkin urged residents who remain in Donetsk region to relocate to safer parts of Ukraine.
He also said public transport in Kramatorsk and neighbouring Slovyansk had been suspended because of the deteriorating security situation.
Kramatorsk and Slovyansk form part of a strategic area known as Ukraine’s “fortress belt”, which Russian forces are seeking to capture as part of their campaign to take control of the Donbas.
Kramatorsk has faced increasingly frequent attacks in recent months, including repeated strikes by Russian glide bombs.
The Kramatorsk City Council condemned the latest attack as a crime against civilians, saying there were no military targets at the location.
