A deadly Russian drone strike killed nine people and injured four others when it hit a civilian bus in the northeastern Ukrainian town of Bilopillia.
The attack happened early Saturday morning while the bus was on its way to Sumy, a city close to Ukraine’s border with Russia.
The strike occurred at around 6:17 a.m. local time, according to regional authorities in Sumy. Officials reported that a Russian Lancet drone targeted the vehicle, causing a devastating explosion that left the bus mangled and several passengers dead at the scene. The injured were quickly taken to nearby hospitals for emergency treatment.
The victims were ordinary civilians, and local police condemned the strike as a deliberate attack on non-combatants. Ukrainian law enforcement called it a war crime, pointing out that the bus was clearly not a military target. Ukrainian officials say this is yet another example of Russia ignoring international law during the ongoing war.
This attack unfolded just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Turkey for their first direct peace talks since 2022. While no major progress was made during the meeting, both sides did agree to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war in the near future. The talks, held in Istanbul, failed to bridge the wide gap in demands that continue to stall a resolution to the conflict.
Russia has not acknowledged striking the bus specifically. However, it claimed to have hit a military gathering point in Sumy. Ukrainian officials strongly deny that any military personnel or equipment were near the site of the bus attack.
The war, now in its third year, has seen frequent air and artillery strikes across eastern and northern Ukraine. In recent months, Russia has intensified attacks along the border, especially in regions like Sumy, which Ukraine previously used to launch raids into Russia’s Kursk region. Ukrainian forces have since been pushed back, and Russia has increased drone and missile activity in the area.
For those living in border towns like Bilopillia, the strike is a grim reminder of how quickly civilian lives can be caught in the crossfire. What was meant to be a routine bus trip turned into one of the deadliest single incidents in the region in recent weeks, adding another layer of tragedy to a war that continues with no clear end in sight.