A drone attack carried out by Russia targeted a passenger train in northeastern Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of five individuals, as confirmed by prosecutors. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the incident as an act of terrorism. The strike occurred near a village in the Kharkiv region, with authorities recovering fragments of five bodies on-site. The train, traveling from Chop near Ukraine’s western borders with Hungary and Slovakia to Barvinkove, had two carriages engulfed in flames next to a snow-covered railbed, as depicted in online images.
Zelenskyy emphasized the attack’s terroristic nature, asserting that no military justification existed for a drone strike on a civilian train. Prosecutors revealed that one drone hit the train, while two others targeted an adjacent area. Zelenskyy, in a message on the Telegram app, mentioned four fatalities, out of more than 200 passengers onboard, with 18 individuals in the impacted carriage. The initial passenger count was reported at 155 by prosecutors. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba labeled the drone attack as a direct act of Russian terror.
Ukrzaliznytsia CEO Oleksandr Pertsovskyi expressed gratitude towards rescue teams and passengers who assisted during the incident, ensuring that train services would continue despite the challenges. In a separate development, Russian drones launched an assault on Odesa in southern Ukraine, resulting in three deaths and 25 injuries. The attack forms part of Moscow’s ongoing winter offensive targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, pressuring Kyiv to accept a U.S.-supported peace agreement to end the longstanding conflict.
Zelenskyy criticized Russia for deploying over 50 drones in a brutal assault on Odesa, undermining diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict. The strikes in Odesa caused substantial damage to residential buildings, a church, a kindergarten, and a high school. The city’s Governor Oleh Kiper reported casualties among children and a pregnant woman. The destruction extended to an energy facility, impacting the city’s power supply. Odesa, strategically located on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, has faced escalating attacks in recent times.
Furthermore, in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Mayor Ihor Terekhov revealed that 40% of households lacked electricity following a combined drone and missile strike. Ukrainian air defenses neutralized a significant portion of the 165 drones launched by Russian forces overnight. Talks between Ukrainian and Russian representatives, facilitated by the U.S., are set to resume after a previous meeting in Abu Dhabi. Zelenskyy called for increased international pressure on Moscow to achieve lasting peace and secure Ukraine against future aggression.