In brief
A Russian glide‑bomb attack on two civilian buses in Kramatorsk killed 33 people and injured 18, officials said, as attacks across Ukraine intensify. The strike targeted a bus moving civilians, heightening fear in the frontline fortress belt of Donbas. Ukrainian President Zelensky demanded concrete action from partners, while Donetsk’s regional head urged civilians to seek safer areas. With Russia launching constant air raids, the civilian casualty count now eclipses the previous year’s total, highlighting the growing human cost of the conflict.
Russian glide‑bomb attack on two buses kills 33 civilians in Kramatorsk
Thirty‑three people were killed and 18 were wounded when Russian forces fired glide bombs at two civilian buses traveling through the frontline city of Kramatorsk, rescue officials said.
Images released by local prosecutors show the burning metal shell of a bus, charred debris, and bodies strewn along the road, highlighting the brutal nature of the hit.
The attack comes amid a dramatic surge in air raids across Ukraine. Russia has intensified long‑range strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure, while Kyiv reports that sirens have blared throughout the capital after the latest onslaught.
According to the United Nations, civilian deaths in Ukraine by August already exceed the entire tally for all of 2025, with a single strike in Pryluky killing 22 residents, including five children, some only one year old.
Donetsk regional head Vadym Filashkin demanded that Ukrainians move to safer areas and ordered the suspension of public transport as the city’s security deteriorates. Filashkin described the bus strike as a “horrific crime” and warned that the city is now within daily Russian attack range.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took to Telegram to mourn the victims and urged international partners to provide “concrete action through new defence packages” to shield civilians.
The incident underscores an increasing global shortage of interceptor missiles, limiting Ukraine’s ability to thwart Russian ballistic and glide‑bomb attacks.
Glide bombs—fitted with winglets to glide toward targets—have been increasingly used by Russia in the Donbas region, with several strikes on Slovyansk and Kramatorsk reported within a single day.
The Kramatorsk City Council condemned the attack, calling it a blatant assault on civilians with no military targets, and warned that towns along the fortress belt face a mounting threat from continued Russian offensives.
