Russian strike on Ukrainian bus kills 9 in Marhanets

A Russian strike by a bus carrying workers to the Ukrainian city of Marhanets killed nine people and injured 49, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday, urging President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to condemn the attack as a “deliberate war”.

The drone hit a bus carrying workers from an mining and processing factory to Marhats, located on the north bank of the Dnipro River, still under Ukrainian control.

“It was a strongly violent attack – and a completely deliberate war crime,” Zelenskiy told X, a former Twitter.

He described the bus as a “clearly political object” and renewed his call for “immediate, complete and unconditional ceasefire”.

The photos shared by Zelenskiy showed bodies close and in the destroyed vehicle, with emergency staff on stage. Most injured were women, according to the president.

DNIPROPETROVSK DNIPROPETROVSK Regional Governor confirmed the details of the accidents, saying 49 people were injured in addition to nine.

The Marhanets strike was part of a broader night attack, in which Russia started 134 attack aircraft on Ukrainian targets, the KIEB Air Force said. There was no immediate response from Moscow.

Elsewhere, artillery and artillery fire destroyed a power plant that served Kherson near the southern front lines. Regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin confirmed the attack.

In the Synelnykivskyi area of ​​Dnipropetrovsk, two people were injured and a fire broke out in an agricultural facility after another drone strike, emergency services said.

Six people were also injured in central Poltava after the aircraft hit the area, while two others were injured in the Odesa suburbs in attacks that caused multiple fires, said regional governor Oleh Kiper.

Further damage was reported to Kharkovo, Ukraine’s second largest city, where aircraft strikes sparked large fires.

In the KIEV capital area, various buildings and restaurant complex were damaged, with seven private houses affected.

Through the escalation of violence, Ukrainian officials arrived in London on Wednesday, hoping for a ceasefire discussions. However, after several major foreign ministers, the talks were postponed.

Both Ukraine and Russia are facing increasing pressure from the United States to move towards peace amid concerns about future US support if former President Donald Trump returns to the office.