Russian drone hits Dnipro train station, killing at least 13

A Russian drone hit a crowded platform at the railway station in Dnipro, eastern Ukraine, on Thursday, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than a dozen, according to Ukrainian officials.

The death toll differed between outlets. Punch put it at 13, while Channels TV reported that Dnipropetrovsk regional governor Oleksandr Ganzha later said it had risen to 14, with another 14 wounded. Six of the wounded were in serious condition with multiple shrapnel injuries, including an 11-year-old boy and a man who lost both legs, the governor said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the drone struck a platform where a commuter train and a passenger train were standing. He described the attack as horrific and said sanctions on Moscow and its war machine must not be eased while the war continues.

Ukraine's air force said it intercepted three jet-powered drones during the daytime attack, but a fourth got through and hit the station. The head of Ukraine Railways, Oleksandr Pertsovsky, said a higher threat level had been declared, but many people were still on the platform.

Photographs released by Ukrainian emergency services showed bodies on the platform, rescuers carrying the injured away, and two burnt-out passenger trains with shattered windows.

Other attacks and a fragile truce

Officials reported more deaths elsewhere in Ukraine. A strike on the centre of Chernihiv, north of Kyiv, killed two 15-year-old girls and wounded more than a dozen people, according to the head of the city's military administration, Dmytro Bryzhynsky. Channels TV reported nearly two dozen wounded, including four children.

In Kremenchuk, central Ukraine, a drone hit a multi-storey residential building. Punch reported two dead, while Channels TV said three, with several wounded including a six-year-old.

The attacks came as Ukraine and Russia said a local ceasefire in Oleshky, a city under Russian occupation since 2022, was holding into its third day. Residents there have faced months of shortages of food, water and medicine. Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, said he had set out with a Ukrainian delegation towards Oleshky through Belarus and Russia.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the Dnipro strike, saying far more than a localised ceasefire is needed and that Russia keeps rejecting proposals while targeting civilians.

What happens next

Zelensky again criticised a deal struck this month between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that eased some sanctions, allowing Moscow to release diesel onto global markets. He asked how many such strikes Russia had carried out since the relief instead of de-escalating.

Russia and Ukraine are due to meet US envoys next month to discuss ending the war, though no dates have been fixed. Previous rounds have failed to bring the sides closer to a deal. Moscow wants more territory in eastern Ukraine and limits on Kyiv's military, while Ukraine and its allies say giving up land would leave the country exposed to future attacks.