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At least 12 people were killed in a Russian drone attack on a bus carrying miners in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region on Sunday.
Ukrainian emergency services later reported that the death toll had risen to 15 in one of the deadliest single attacks on energy workers since the beginning of the war.
The attack on Sunday came hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the postponement of a new round of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
A spokesperson for DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, which employed the workers, told Fox News Digital that the drone had targeted the bus when it was “about 40 miles from the front lines in central and eastern Ukraine.”
The DTEK spokesperson also described the incident as a “terrorist attack on civilian infrastructure”.
“The attack was a targeted terrorist attack against civilians and another crime by Russia against critical infrastructure,” the spokesman said.
Russia launches major drone, missile attack on Ukraine as US diplomatic talks continue
At least 12 Ukrainian coal miners were killed and seven others were injured in a Russian drone strike when it hit a civilian bus in the Dnipropetrovsk region. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine, Dnipropetrovsk region)
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service also confirmed that the bus was carrying miners after finishing their shift when it collided with a Russian drone.
At least seven workers were injured, and the fire caused by the impact was later extinguished by emergency crews.
The company also said in a statement, “The center of one of the attacks was a company bus carrying miners from the enterprise after their transfer to the Dnipropetrovsk region.”
Zelensky condemned the attack late Sunday, calling it another deliberate attack on civilians.
Russia says Ukraine peace talks ‘progressing constructively’ as Kremlin launches deadly attack on Odessa
At least 12 Ukrainian coal miners were killed and seven others were injured in a Russian drone strike when it hit a civilian bus in the Dnipropetrovsk region. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine, Dnipropetrovsk region)
Earlier in the day, he announced that the next round of trilateral talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the US would now take place in Abu Dhabi on February 4-5, down from what was originally expected to take place on Sunday.
“Ukraine is ready for a substantive discussion, and we are interested in ensuring that the outcome will bring us closer to a real and honorable end to the war,” Zelensky said on X. He said all parties had agreed to the delay.
The delay followed a surprise meeting Saturday in Florida between President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Kirill Dmitriev, the Kremlin’s special envoy and head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund.
According to the Associated Press, representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the US are now expected to attend the talks in Abu Dhabi.
As Putin’s strike nears its end, Ukraine tries to strengthen air defense
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have both met separately with President Donald Trump. Despite getting closer to a peace agreement, territorial disputes remain, Zelensky said. (Julia Demari Nikhinson/AP; Christian Bruna/Getty)
Meanwhile, Zelensky warned that Russia was stepping up its air campaign against civilian and military targets.
“Over the past week, Russia has used more than 980 attack drones, nearly 1,100 guided aerial bombs and two missiles against Ukraine,” he wrote on Sunday. “We are documenting Russian efforts to destroy logistics and connectivity between cities and communities.”
In a statement, DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko also noted that the bus attack was the company’s “biggest loss.” [of] “Life of DTEK Employees Since Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion.”
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Timchenko said, “We can already say with certainty that this was an unprovoked terrorist attack on a completely civilian target, for which there can be no justification.”
He said the attack was “one of the darkest days in our history”. He said, “DTEK teams are working with emergency services on the ground in the Dnipropetrovsk region to provide all care and support to the injured and the families of those who lost their loved ones. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten.”
