‘Savage’ Russian drone strike hits Ukraine passenger train

A Russian drone strike on a railway station in northeastern Ukraine struck a passenger train and injured dozens of people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.

“A savage Russian drone strike on the railway station in Shostka, Sumy region,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “So far, we know of at least 30 victims.”

He posted a video of the wreckage of a burning train carriage and another with its windows blown out.

“The Russians could not have been unaware that they were striking civilians,” added Zelenskyy.

Russia struck two trains, first hitting a local passenger train and then another headed for Kyiv, said Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba.

“Medical teams have already transported the injured to hospitals and are providing necessary assistance. Others (who were at the site) are in shelters overseen by rescuers,” Kuleba wrote on Telegram.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned “Russian barbarity” after the attack and called for increased pressure on Moscow to end its aggression in Ukraine.

“The shocking scenes emerging from Shostka railway station highlight Russia’s reckless and continued willingness to target civilians,” von der Leyen said in a post on X. “The EU and its global partners must continue ramping up the pressure on Russia until it finally accepts a just and lasting peace.”

Moscow has increased air and drone attacks on rail and energy infrastructure ahead of the winter. In a separate attack, a wave of overnight strikes by Russian forces on Saturday cut off power to thousands households in the northern Chernigiv region, according to the AFP news agency.

“These were targeted and deliberate Russian drone strikes on passenger trains,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on X. “Russian terrorists must get strong responses for this deliberate and brutal terror against civilians.”