Russian drone strikes Dnipro railway station, killing at least 13 people

Strike on Dnipro station

A Russian drone attack on a railway station in Dnipro, central Ukraine, killed at least 13 people on 29 October, governor Oleksandr Hanzha said in a Telegram post. Ukrzaliznytsia, the state railway company, said a jet-powered drone hit a platform where train No. 866, running from Dnipro to Zaporizhzhia, was standing with people present. Volodymyr Zelensky said the drone struck a platform where a suburban train and a regular passenger train were standing, while another report describes two passenger trains stopped at the station and hit. Mayor Borys Filatov reported many dead and many wounded on Telegram but gave no details. Images circulating on social media showed bodies on the platform and police kneeling beside them.

Hanzha first reported at least five people injured, and that number later rose to 10. Three of the injured are in serious condition, among them an 11-year-old boy. Officials had not yet released further details about the identities of the victims.

A string of attacks in the region

The strike follows a series of Russian incursions in the region, where drone attacks and aerial bombardments have damaged residential buildings and critical infrastructure. Ukrainian authorities reported on 25 October that Russian attacks in several districts of the region had killed four people. Dnipro has been targeted several times during the conflict.

Russia has struck trains and stations across Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began on 24 February 2022, destroying hundreds of locomotives and killing railway workers and passengers. Ukrzaliznytsia told AFP in early October that more than 5,800 trains were evacuated in September alone because of strike threats. Most of these evacuations took place near the front line in Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia. This year the railways began mass evacuations of passengers, including from trains already under way. When a threat is detected, the train stops and passengers leave the carriages to wait at a distance until the danger passes. With air travel shut down because of the war, the railway is essential for moving people and goods within Ukraine and in and out of the country.

Zelensky calls for tougher sanctions

Zelensky argued that Russia has carried out a series of such terrorist strikes since sanctions on some Russian oligarchs and the energy sector were lifted, instead of moving toward de-escalation. He said that is why Ukraine has always argued for a firm response from the United States and Europe. In his social media post he put it this way:

“Fair and resolute actions by America and Europe are needed in response to Russian escalation.”

He called on the EU, the United States and the G7 to adopt new and stronger sanctions against Russia. He said those sanctions must not weaken while the war continues.

Oleshky ceasefire and Moscow's drone claim

A ceasefire in Oleshky, a front-line town in Kherson region occupied by Russian troops, has held since Tuesday, 27 October. Demining work to create a safer humanitarian corridor in the town has succeeded, Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinez and his Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova said at the same time. Lubinez said a humanitarian aid delivery was being assembled for Oleshky on 30 October and that he would be there himself. The two sides' representatives have coordinated closely.

Separately, Moscow's defence ministry said early on 29 October that it had shot down 1,214 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory, describing it as one of the largest Ukrainian counterattacks so far.