At least 14 people have been killed and another 14 injured after a Russian drone struck a busy railway station in Dnipro, Ukraine, in an attack President Volodymyr Zelensky described as “horrific”.
The attack occurred on Thursday, October 29, 2026, as Russia intensified its aerial bombardment of Ukrainian cities despite efforts to maintain a fragile local ceasefire in the occupied city of Oleshky.
According to Channels Television, citing Agence France-Presse (AFP), the drone struck a platform where a commuter train and a passenger train were stationed.
Dnipropetrovsk regional governor Oleksandr Ganzha confirmed that the death toll had risen to 14 by early Thursday afternoon.
Another 14 people were wounded, six of whom were in critical condition. The injured included an 11-year-old boy and a man who reportedly lost both legs in the attack.
Images released by Ukraine’s emergency services showed rescue workers attending to victims, bodies lying on the platform and two badly damaged passenger trains with shattered windows.
Zelensky Demands Continued Sanctions Against Russia
Zelensky condemned the attack and called on Ukraine’s allies not to ease sanctions against Moscow while the war continued.
“Sanctions against Moscow and its war machine must not be eased for as long as this Russian war continues,” the Ukrainian president said.
Ukraine’s air force reported intercepting three jet-powered drones during the daytime attack, while a fourth evaded air defences and struck the railway station.
Zelensky also questioned the decision by United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to ease some sanctions on Russia, allowing Moscow to release diesel onto global markets.
He asked how many similar attacks Russia had carried out since sanctions on some Russian oligarchs and the energy sector were lifted, arguing that the measures had failed to encourage de-escalation.
French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned the attack, saying a localised ceasefire was insufficient to end the violence.
Macron accused Russia of rejecting proposals aimed at reducing hostilities and continuing to escalate attacks against civilians.
Two Teenagers Killed in Separate Attacks
The railway station strike was among several deadly Russian attacks reported across Ukraine on Thursday.
In the northern city of Chernihiv, a strike on the city centre killed two 15-year-old girls and wounded nearly two dozen people, including four children, according to Dmytro Bryzhynsky, head of the city’s military administration.
Another drone struck a multi-storey residential building in Kremenchuk, central Ukraine, killing three people and injuring several others, including a six-year-old child.
Local officials reported that at least six additional people had been killed in separate attacks across the country.
Russia has intensified drone and missile strikes in recent weeks, targeting energy infrastructure around major Ukrainian cities. Kyiv says the attacks are intended to leave the country facing severe cold and power shortages during winter.
The Kremlin has also vowed to maintain the pace of its military campaign, even as preparations continue for a possible resumption of stalled peace talks under United States mediation.
Fragile Ceasefire Holds in Oleshky
The attack in Dnipro came as Ukraine and Russia sought to maintain a local ceasefire in Oleshky, a city under Russian occupation since 2022.
The truce was entering its third day, with Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets announcing that he had departed with a Ukrainian delegation towards Oleshky through Belarus and Russia.
The ceasefire was brokered by United States First Lady Melania Trump, with Zelensky describing the potential evacuation of stranded residents as a major achievement.
Former residents in contact with people trapped in Oleshky told AFP that shortages of food, water and medicine had become so severe that some locals had resorted to hunting and eating pigeons.
Russia and Ukraine are expected to meet United States envoys next month to discuss possible ways to end the conflict, although no firm dates have been announced.
Previous rounds of negotiations have failed to produce a breakthrough.
Moscow continues to demand additional territory in eastern Ukraine, alongside sweeping military and political restrictions on Kyiv.
Ukraine and its allies have rejected the demands, arguing that surrendering territory would amount to capitulation and leave the country vulnerable to future Russian attacks.
