A Russian drone strike on a crowded railway platform in Ukraine's eastern city of Dnipro killed at least 14 people on Thursday, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said, after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier put the toll at 13. At least 14 more people were wounded, six of them seriously, including an 11-year-old boy.
Zelenskyy called the attack "horrific", saying the drone hit a platform where a commuter train and a passenger train bound for Zaporizhzhia were standing. Ukraine's air force said four jet-powered drones were launched at the region around 11am; three were shot down, but the fourth struck the station. Ukrainian Railways said a heightened threat had been announced before the strike, but many people stayed on the platform.
Zelenskyy urged the United States, Europe and the G7 to respond with stronger sanctions, and criticised this month's easing of some sanctions on Russia. "How many such terrorist strikes has Russia carried out against our people since sanctions were lifted on some Russian oligarchs and the energy sector, instead of de-escalating," he said. French President Emmanuel Macron said Moscow was choosing "escalation" by targeting civilians.
Separate Russian attacks killed at least five other people elsewhere in Ukraine on Thursday, including two 15-year-old girls in Chernihiv, local officials said.
Photo: Dnipro railway station (file) by VKras, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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