Ukraine Reports 30 Dead in Eastern Strikes as Bus Attack Halts Public Transport

Ukrainian authorities said Russian strikes in eastern Ukraine killed 30 people and injured at least 18, including in an attack on a public bus.

The reported casualties came amid an intensive wave of pre-winter attacks. Public transport was suspended in Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in the Donetsk region after what regional authorities described as a sharp deterioration in security.

Vadym Filashkin, head of the regional military administration, said the decision was intended to protect passengers and drivers. “In such circumstances, we have no right to risk the lives of passengers and drivers. The safety of residents of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk is above all,” he said.

Separate attacks reported

The report also cited deadly missile strikes in Pryluky, northern Ukraine, a day earlier. The death toll there was reported at 22, including five children, while at least 54 people were injured. Rescuers searched the rubble of a damaged residential building.

Police said Russian drones struck Kyiv’s Obolonskyi and Desnianskyi districts late Wednesday, killing four people and injuring 12. Four of those injured were children.

The casualty figures for the eastern Ukraine strikes, Pryluky and Kyiv were reported separately. The available account does not clarify whether the totals overlap.

Zelenskyy appeals for more air defence support

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia could intensify daily missile and drone attacks as winter approaches. In an online appeal to NATO countries, he called for new defence packages, anti-ballistic capabilities, ammunition for combat aircraft and investment in interceptors.

“It is important that support in words takes concrete form in new packages for Ukraine’s defense,” Zelenskyy said. He added that anti-ballistic systems, aircraft ammunition and interceptor investments were helping save lives.

Ukraine’s General Staff separately said Ukrainian forces had struck an oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Salavat, Russia, which it described as one of the country’s largest such facilities. The claim could not be independently verified. Salavat is about 1,200 kilometres east of Moscow.

The reported attacks came as Russia and Ukraine continued a long-range aerial conflict while their armies remained largely deadlocked along the front line. Ukrainian authorities have also reported worsening power outages in Kyiv and the use of netting to counter drone attacks.