At least 12 people were killed and seven wounded after a Russian drone struck a bus carrying miners in Ukraine's southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, government officials said on Sunday (1 February).
Energy company DTEK said in a statement that Russian forces had carried out a "massive terrorist attack" on a company mine in the region, and that all the dead and wounded were employees returning from a shift.
"Today, the enemy carried out a cynical and targeted attack on energy sector workers in the Dnipropetrovsk region," wrote first Deputy Prime Miniser Denys Shmyhal, who is also the Energy Minister, on the Telegram app.
DTEK and Shmyhal had earlier put the death toll at 15.
Meanwhile, earlier on Sunday, regional officials said at least nine had been wounded in Russian strikes on a maternity hospital and a residential building in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia.
Three women were initially reported wounded, and a fire broke out in the gynaecology reception area before being brought under control. Regional governor Ivan Fedorov later said the number of injured in Zaporizhzhia had risen to six.
Ukrainian authorities said emergency services were responding at multiple sites, while air defence units continued efforts to intercept incoming drones.
Russia has not commented on the reported strikes.
In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strike on the bus had hit a regular coach transporting miners, offering condolences to the victims’ families and noting that several people were wounded.
"In Dnipro region, in Ternivka of Pavlohrad district there was a strike by Russian drones on a regular coach. A coach which was carrying miners – unfortunately (there are) a lot of dead. My condolences to all relatives and friends. There are wounded too," he said.
Zelenskyy also warned of mounting pressure on Ukraine’s energy system, saying more than 500 residential buildings in Kyiv remain without heating amid freezing winter temperatures. He called for faster coordination between city authorities and the national government and said additional warming centres had been opened.
"Repair works are still on. This certainly cannot be seen as normal in a city where for a number of weeks part of the dwellings go unheated. Each day irrespective of the situation this is hundreds of building. Whether there are strikes or no strikes - all the same - hundreds of buildings without heating. This means that work carried out in the city is not enough," Zelenskyy added.
Turning to diplomacy, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s negotiating team had reported progress toward another round of U.S.-brokered trilateral talks with Russia, planned for next week in the United Arab Emirates.
The announcement comes amid uncertainty over a Russian pledge to suspend attacks on energy infrastructure at the request of U.S. President Donald Trump, with Kyiv saying it would reciprocate.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine remains ready for “substantive” talks even as Russian forces continue battlefield advances.
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