40 Children Escape Russian Drone Strike on Bus Near Dnipro; Six Wounded Include Child and Pregnant Woman
A bus carrying 40 children narrowly avoided a direct hit from a Russian drone strike near Dnipro on Sunday, though the attack left six people wounded, including a child and a pregnant woman, according to Euromaidanpress.
The strike occurred as the bus was traveling in the Dnipro region, a city in central-eastern Ukraine that has faced repeated aerial assaults since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022. The drone targeted the vehicle directly, but the children escaped the immediate blast zone, local authorities reported. The wounded were transported to nearby medical facilities for treatment.
Broader Attack Toll
The drone strike on the bus was part of a wider wave of Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past 24 hours that killed at least eight civilians and injured 90 people, Euromaidanpress reported, citing regional officials. The attacks spanned multiple oblasts, with residential areas, infrastructure, and transport routes all coming under fire.
In Kherson Oblast alone, 26 people were injured during the same period, according to local authorities. The southern region, which remains partially occupied by Russian forces, has seen near-daily shelling and drone strikes targeting civilian infrastructure and evacuation routes.
Civilian Casualties Mount
The attack on the school bus underscores the ongoing threat to civilian life in Ukraine's front-line regions. Since the start of the war, thousands of civilians have been killed or wounded in strikes on schools, hospitals, and transport hubs. The use of drones has allowed Russian forces to strike deeper into Ukrainian territory with greater precision, often targeting vehicles and infrastructure far from the front lines.
Sunday's casualties bring the total number of civilians killed in Russian attacks this week to at least 32, with hundreds more wounded, according to regional governors' reports compiled by Ukrainian media. The Dnipro region alone has recorded 14 civilian deaths in the past month from drone and missile strikes.
Emergency Response
Emergency services arrived at the scene of the bus strike within minutes, evacuating the wounded and securing the area. Local hospitals activated emergency protocols to treat the injured, including the pregnant woman and the child, whose conditions were not immediately disclosed. Authorities urged residents to remain in shelters during air raid warnings, which sounded repeatedly across the region on Sunday.
The attack comes as Ukraine continues to appeal for more air defense systems from Western allies to protect its cities and critical infrastructure from Russian drone and missile barrages.