By Mardiyyah Abubakar
A Russian drone strike on a railway station in Dnipro, Ukraine, has killed at least 14 people and wounded 14 others.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Thursday described the attack as “horrific” and called on Kyiv’s allies to maintain sanctions against Moscow.
Dnipropetrovsk regional governor Oleksandr Ganzha confirmed the death toll, adding that six of the injured were in critical condition. The wounded included an 11-year-old boy and a man who lost both legs.
The drone struck a busy platform where a commuter train and a passenger train stood. Images released by Ukraine’s emergency services showed rescuers evacuating victims and damaged trains with shattered windows.
Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted three jet-powered drones during the daytime attack, but a fourth evaded its defences and struck the station.
Zelensky criticised a recent agreement between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to ease some sanctions on Russia, questioning why Moscow continued its attacks despite the move.
Meanwhile, Russian attacks killed at least six other people in separate incidents across Ukraine.
In the northern city of Chernihiv, a strike killed two 15-year-old girls and wounded nearly two dozen people, including four children.
Another drone struck a multi-storey residential building in Kremenchuk, killing three people and injuring several others, including a six-year-old child.
Russia has intensified drone and missile attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, targeting energy facilities as winter approaches. Kyiv says the attacks aim to leave millions of people without adequate heating and electricity.
Despite the escalation, Ukraine and Russia are maintaining a fragile local ceasefire in Oleshky, a Russian-occupied city where residents have faced severe shortages of food, water and medicine.
The ceasefire, brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump, entered its third day on Thursday. Ukrainian officials hope the truce will enable the evacuation of residents trapped in the city.
Russia and Ukraine are also expected to meet US envoys next month to discuss possible ways to end the war. However, previous rounds of negotiations have failed to produce a breakthrough, with both sides maintaining opposing positions on territorial and security demands.
