Date: October 8, 2026
Reporter: Emilly Jordan
A Russian bomb attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk killed at least 33 people and wounded 18 others on Thursday, Ukrainian authorities said, in one of the deadliest single attacks on civilians in the area this year.
The strike hit a street where two city buses were operating, according to Ukrainian police. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described the location as a public transport stop. Images released by authorities showed bodies lying among debris on the street and the burned remains of what appeared to be a passenger bus.
The attack took place in Kramatorsk, a strategically important city in Ukraine's Donetsk region and part of the defensive belt that includes several major Ukrainian-held cities. Regional officials said Russian forces have intensified drone and guided-bomb attacks on Kramatorsk and other cities in the area.
Donetsk regional governor Vadym Filashkin accused Russian forces of deliberately targeting civilians. He said the presence of passengers on buses made the location particularly vulnerable to an attack capable of causing heavy casualties. Those accusations have not been independently established. Russia did not immediately comment on the strike and has repeatedly denied deliberately targeting civilians during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities said the attack was carried out with an aerial bomb. The strike damaged two scheduled buses and an apartment building, while emergency workers searched the area for victims and survivors. The death toll was subsequently revised upward as rescuers and authorities assessed the consequences of the attack, reaching 33 deaths and 18 injuries.
The Kramatorsk attack came amid continuing Russian pressure on Ukrainian cities and military positions in the Donetsk region. Moscow has demanded that Ukraine surrender the remaining Ukrainian-controlled parts of Donetsk as part of its conditions for ending the war, while Kyiv has rejected the demand.
Filashkin ordered authorities in Kramatorsk and nearby Sloviansk to suspend public transportation following the attack. He said officials could not justify putting additional civilians at risk while Russian strikes continued.
The attack also came one day after a major Russian missile and drone assault across Ukraine that killed dozens of people and focused heavily on the country's power infrastructure. Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia is increasing attacks on cities and critical infrastructure as the war continues.
Separately, Russian drone strikes hit Kyiv on Thursday, killing three people and injuring 14, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. That attack was separate from the Kramatorsk bombing.
Kramatorsk and Sloviansk remain among the most important population centres in the Ukrainian-controlled part of Donetsk. Their location makes them central to Ukraine's defensive efforts as Russian forces continue attempts to expand their control of the region.
The latest casualties add to the growing civilian toll of Russia's full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022. Both sides continue to carry out long-range missile and drone attacks, while the front line in eastern Ukraine remains the principal battlefield of the war.