At least 30 people have been killed after a Russian glide bomb struck two civilian buses in Kramatorsk, a frontline city in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, according to Ukrainian rescue authorities.
The attack also affected the nearby village of Bilenke, which forms part of the Kramatorsk community, where three additional people were reported dead.
Donetsk Regional Head Vadym Filashkin said 18 others sustained injuries in the attacks. He accused Russian forces of deliberately targeting buses carrying civilians, describing the incident as an attempt to cause maximum casualties.
Images released by Ukrainian prosecutors showed the charred remains of one of the buses, with wreckage scattered across the road.
Kramatorsk, alongside neighbouring Slovyansk, sits within Ukraine’s heavily defended “fortress belt”, an area Russian forces are seeking to capture as part of Moscow’s wider territorial ambitions in the Donbas.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack and warned that Kyiv would respond.
“Russia is trying to destroy all life in Donbas,” Zelensky said, calling for a strong international response to Russia’s continued attacks.
Moscow had not publicly commented on the incident at the time of reporting.
The strike comes amid a sharp escalation in Russian attacks across Ukraine. The United Nations says civilian deaths recorded in Ukraine by August had already exceeded the total recorded throughout 2025.
The latest violence follows a separate strike on a residential building in Pryluky, where 22 people, including five children, were killed.
During a visit to Kyiv, UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband condemned the attack and announced additional sanctions targeting Russia’s war economy.
