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Russian jet drone hits Dnipro station platform, killing at least 13; Zelensky says sanctions must not be eased
A Russian jet-powered drone hit a busy platform at Dnipro's railway station on Thursday, killing at least 13; the governor later said 14. Two passenger trains burned. Zelensky called it horrific and said sanctions on Moscow must not be eased. A local ceasefire in Oleshky was in its third day.
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A Russian drone hit a busy platform at the main railway station in Dnipro, in central Ukraine, on Thursday, 29 October, killing at least 13 people. The governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region later raised the toll to 14 and said that six of the wounded were in a serious condition. About 10 people were injured, according to one report. Two passenger trains were burnt out, and images from the scene showed bodies on the platform.
What happened
Ukraine's air force said it had intercepted three jet-powered drones in a daytime attack, but that a fourth got through and struck the station. Ukrainian Railways said the drone hit a platform where a commuter train was preparing to leave for Zaporizhzhia, with a passenger train also stopped there. The head of the railway company, Oleksandr Pertsovsky, said that a heightened threat level had been announced but that many people were still on the platform.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack horrific and said that it demands a response from Kyiv's allies. He said that sanctions against Moscow and its war machine must not be eased for as long as the Russian war continues. He criticised a deal between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin that eased some sanctions and allowed Russia to release diesel onto global markets, and he asked how many such strikes Russia would carry out after sanctions were lifted on some Russian oligarchs and the energy sector. He urged the European Union, the United States and the G7 not to ease the pressure.
The reports carry no official Russian reaction to the Dnipro strike.
Other attacks the same day
At least five other people were killed in separate Russian attacks across Ukraine. In Chernihiv, a strike killed two 15-year-old girls and wounded more than a dozen people. In Kremenchuk, a drone hit a residential building, killing two and wounding several, including a six-year-old.
| Place | Reported casualties |
|---|---|
| Dnipro railway station | At least 13 killed, later 14; about 10 injured |
| Chernihiv | Two girls aged 15 killed; more than a dozen wounded |
| Kremenchuk | Two killed; several wounded, including a six-year-old |
The strike came while Ukraine and Russia were trying to keep a local ceasefire in Oleshky, a city that has been under Russian occupation since 2022 and where residents face shortages of food, water and medicine. Both countries said the truce was holding into its third day. Ukraine's ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, said that his delegation was heading towards Oleshky through Belarus and Russia. Zelensky said it would be a huge success if the ceasefire allowed stranded civilians to be evacuated. The ceasefire was brokered by Melania Trump.
Russia has fired drones at Ukrainian trains since 2022. In September alone, passengers were evacuated from more than 5,800 train services because of the threat of drones. Russia has also intensified its attacks on energy sites in recent weeks. The Kremlin said this week that it would not ease the pace of the war, and Russia and Ukraine are due to meet US envoys next month, though no dates have been confirmed.
Jet-powered drones fly faster than the propeller-driven drones that were used earlier in the war, which gives air defences less time to find and shoot them down. Ukraine's air force said it had intercepted three such drones in the daytime attack on Thursday, and the fourth reached the station. The railway company said the threat level was raised before the strike, but a commuter train was still at the platform with people on it.
What is known is limited. The toll was 13 in the first reports and 14 later, with six of the wounded in a serious condition, so it may rise. The commuter train at the platform was bound for Zaporizhzhia, a city in the south-east, and a second passenger train was also standing there. The reports carry no Russian comment on the strike, and no account from the survivors. Zelensky's statement is the main official reaction from Kyiv.
Railways are the main way that civilians travel across Ukraine, and the network has remained in operation through the war, so stations are crowded at all hours. International humanitarian law bars attacks on civilians and civilian objects, and the Ukrainian authorities describe strikes of this kind as attacks on civilians. The toll could rise as the wounded are treated, and the figures may change.
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