Russian strike on Kramatorsk buses kills at least 33, wounds 18, Ukrainian officials say

Ukrainian officials said a Russian strike on public transport in the eastern city of Kramatorsk killed at least 30 people and injured 18 on Thursday, in one of the deadliest civilian attacks in the frontline area in recent months. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine later said the death toll had risen to 33, while the number of wounded remained at 18.

The casualty figures were still developing. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel that 30 people had been killed and 18 injured. Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk regional military administration, reported the same toll. Later, the State Emergency Service said 33 people were confirmed dead and 18 wounded.

Ukrainian authorities said the strike hit Kramatorsk, in the Donetsk region, at about 10 a.m. local time. In a statement cited by Interfax, Ukraine’s National Police said the attack happened around that time. Zelenskyy said a Russian bomb struck two route buses, indicating the attack hit scheduled passenger transport. Other official accounts described the strike as hitting a bus-stop area. Emergency crews and medics were responding at the scene, and authorities said nearby residential buildings and vehicles were also damaged.

Filashkin said public transport would be suspended in Kramatorsk and the neighboring city of Sloviansk because of the security situation, underscoring the immediate disruption in two of the largest Ukrainian-held cities in the Donetsk region.

Kramatorsk is a major city near active front lines in eastern Ukraine and has repeatedly come under attack during the war. It is also associated with an earlier mass-casualty strike: the April 2022 attack on the Kramatorsk railway station that killed dozens of civilians.

Ukrainian authorities attributed Thursday’s strike to Russia. There was no immediate official comment from Moscow in early international reporting. Russia has previously denied deliberately targeting civilians in Ukraine.