Russian Strike Kills 33 in Ukraine’s Deadliest Attack This Year

At least 33 people were killed on Thursday after a Russian strike hit two public buses in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, in the deadliest single attack recorded in the country this year.

The attack, which also injured 18 people, triggered fires on the buses and nearby areas, according to Ukrainian authorities. The incident prompted officials in the Donetsk region to suspend public transportation in Kramatorsk and neighbouring Sloviansk.

Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk regional military administration, accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians and urged residents to leave the region for safer areas.

“The Russians are deliberately targeting civilians,” Filashkin said. “For them, a bus full of passengers is an attractive target precisely because a single strike can kill as many people as possible.”

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine(SES) said emergency teams battled fires involving the two buses and surrounding areas. Police, meanwhile, reported that Russian drones targeted officers who arrived at the scene to assist victims.

Rescue workers faced a grim scene as they searched for survivors and recovered bodies from the road. Police said some victims were so badly dismembered that officials had to piece together remains during the identification process.

Footage released by the authorities showed bodies lying along the road as emergency workers carried injured passengers to ambulances. The recording also captured drones flying near the area while rescue operations continued.

In one disturbing moment, an emergency worker asked an injured woman for her name. She responded weakly, “Tanya… legs, legs,” before rescuers moved her into an emergency vehicle.

Filashkin later ordered the suspension of public transport in Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. He also renewed calls for civilians to evacuate the region.

“I urge everyone who remains in the Donetsk region to evacuate to safer regions of Ukraine,” he said, while describing the attack as part of Russia’s continuing assault on Ukrainian cities.

The strike came as Ukrainian officials prepared for fresh talks in the United States aimed at finding a path towards ending the war.

A source familiar with the planned discussions said US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President Donald Trump, were expected to meet Ukrainian officials on Friday and Saturday.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the talks would run for two days and expressed hope that Ukraine’s European allies would participate. He added that Ukrainian representatives would raise the urgent need for stronger air-defence systems.

The discussions followed comments by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who described the war as being at a dangerous stalemate. Speaking during a visit to Portugal, Rubio reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to securing a lasting settlement.

“We’d love to see a negotiated settlement to this war that is permanent, enduring, and fair,” Rubio said.

Russia also acknowledged the assessment. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow agreed that the conflict had reached a stalemate, while stressing the need for diplomacy.

“Yes, we agree with him,” Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

He added that diplomats must find a way to move the conflict towards peace, arguing that diplomacy remained the means of breaking the deadlock.

The Kramatorsk attack adds to a series of deadly strikes against Ukrainian civilians in recent months. Russia has continued to launch large-scale aerial attacks, while Ukraine faces shortages of air-defence interceptors.

A Russian missile barrage on Kyiv in July killed 33 people across the capital. Another attack in August killed 38 people after a drone strike on an ammunition depot triggered a major fire and explosions near a residential area.

Kramatorsk and Sloviansk remain strategically important industrial cities close to the front line. They form part of the so-called fortress belt alongside Kostiantynivka and Druzhkivka.

Kramatorsk has served as a rear base for Ukrainian forces operating along the eastern front. However, intensified Russian attacks have increasingly made the city unsafe even for troops seeking temporary respite from combat.

Ukraine’s 93rd Mechanized Brigade recently indicated that soldiers could no longer rely on Kramatorsk as a safe place to rest because of frequent shelling.

The fortress belt has gradually weakened during the more than four-year war. Kostiantynivka, its southern anchor, has also effectively fallen as a stronghold, further exposing communities in the region to the continuing conflict.