A jet-powered drone hit a crowded platform in Dnipro on Thursday, killing at least 13 people, as Ukraine's president called for sanctions on Moscow to stay in place.
At least 13 people were killed and five injured on Thursday, 29 October, when a Russian jet-powered drone struck a platform at the railway station in Dnipro, in eastern Ukraine, according to reports from DW and France 24 citing Ukrainian officials. State railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia said the platform was crowded with passengers waiting to board a regional train to Zaporizhzhia, and that people were there despite an elevated threat warning. Ukraine's air force said it intercepted three drones in the daytime attack but that a fourth evaded air defences and hit the station. Images released by Ukrainian emergency services showed bodies on the platform and two burnt-out passenger trains.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack "horrific" and urged Kyiv's allies not to ease sanctions on Moscow for as long as the war continues. He pointed to a deal struck this month between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that eased some sanctions and allowed Russian diesel onto global markets, asking how many such strikes Russia had carried out since the relief. French President Emmanuel Macron said he was deeply concerned that Russia continues to opt for escalation against civilians, and argued that a localised ceasefire like the one recently negotiated for Oleshky is not enough.
The strike came as a fragile local truce around the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky, brokered with the involvement of US First Lady Melania Trump, was reported to be holding. Authorities said at least five other people died in separate Russian attacks on Thursday, including two 15-year-old girls killed in a strike on the centre of Chernihiv and two people killed when a drone hit a residential building in Kremenchuk. Russia has targeted Ukrainian trains and stations since the 2022 invasion, and Ukrzaliznytsia told AFP that in September alone more than 5,800 train services had to be evacuated because of the threat of strikes. Russia and Ukraine are expected to meet US envoys next month to discuss ending the war, though no dates have been set.
