Seven killed after drone hits bus in Russia-controlled part of Ukraine

KYIV — At least seven people have been killed and 11 others injured after a drone hit a passenger bus in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region of Ukraine, authorities said. The Russian-installed head of the region, Denis Pushilin, said on the Telegram messaging platform that the bus was struck in the early hours of Wednesday as it was travelling between Moscow and Simferopol, in Crimea. The strikes come a day after a massive Russian assault on cities across Ukraine killed at least 22 people, including several women and children. On the drone which hit the bus in Donetsk, Pushilin said: “In Yenakiyevo, a UAV attacked a Moscow-Simferopol coach; according to preliminary reports, seven civilians were killed.” He added the 11 injured people were receiving medical care. Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Ukrainian government’s centre for combating disinformation, has talked about a “parallel reality” created by Russian state propaganda, while not explicitly denying claims that the strike took place. “Russia attacks civilians with drones all the time… of course, when everyone is talking about this, when there is evidence of such actions by the Russians, they use their main propaganda tool: creating a parallel reality,” he told the BBC. “Against this background of attacks on our civilians, they come up with stories in which Ukraine acts just like Russia. This is done to justify their own terror as a response to our actions.” Meanwhile, an 86-year-old woman was killed following a drone attack in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region overnight, Yaroslav Shanko, head of the city’s military administration said. This came as part of a wider attack by Moscow overnight, with Ukraine’s air force saying Russia launched 198 drones at several different regions, 189 of which were shot down. The latest wave of strikes comes a day after Russia launched one of its largest attacks on Ukraine since its full-scale invasion began in 2022. At least 22 people were killed after Russia launched more than 700 missiles and drones overnight into Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said. Russia’s defense ministry said the strikes had been a response to previous Ukrainian attacks, saying in a statement that the “strike objectives” had all been achieved.