Russian forces attacked a bus carrying miners in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region on Sunday, Feb. 1, killing 12 people.
The head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration (OVA), Oleksandr Ganzha, said on Telegram that a Russian drone struck near a company bus in the Pavlohrad district.
The State Emergency Service (DSNS) and Ternivka Deputy Mayor Oleksandr Dobrovolsky also confirmed the attack and casualties. The National Police reported that the bus burned down as a result of the strike on civilian infrastructure.
Initial reports said 12 people were killed and 7 injured. Later it was announced the death toll had risen to 15. But as of Monday morning, 12 people were confirmed dead, according to the energy company DTEK press service.
DTEK reported that all those killed were miners returning from work.
“The epicenter of one of the attacks was a company bus transporting miners after their shift,” a statement read.
Monday, Feb. 2, has been declared a day of mourning in the Dnipropetrovsk region following a Russian strike on a bus carrying DTEK miners.
“We bow our heads in memory of those who died in the hostile attack on the bus carrying the company’s employees, carried out by the aggressor the day before. A luminous memory to those whose lives were cut short by Russian villains. Our deepest condolences to those who lost their loved ones,” the OVA said in a statement.
Another 16 people were injured in the strike.
“This attack was the largest single loss for DTEK since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion and one of the darkest days in the company’s history. We express our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and the injured. All affected families will be provided with assistance,” DTEK said.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Russian attack on a bus in Ternivka was a demonstrative crime that once again shows Russia’s responsibility for escalating the war.
Serhiy “Flash” Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister, also commented on the attack, saying that Russian troops clearly saw and recognized the bus as a civilian target.
He said a group of Russian “Shahed” attack drones, controlled online via MES modems, were flying along the road at the time. The operator of the first drone spotted the bus and decided to strike it.
“The Shahed detonated near the bus. The driver lost control under the force of the blast wave and crashed into a fence. The injured passengers began to get out of the bus, helping each other,” Beskrestnov wrote.
At that moment, however, the operator of a second Russian “Shahed” deliberately redirected the drone toward people attempting to escape the vehicle, killing and wounding a large number of civilians.
Beskrestnov separately emphasized that the drone operators “100% saw and recognized the target as civilian.” They understood they were attacking non-military people, yet made a conscious decision to strike, committing what he described as a terrorist attack.
“This is yet another act of terrorism. I have no words,” he added.
Ganzha also said that overnight Russia again attacked Ternivka with drones, setting fire to an administrative building and an adjacent extension.
Russian forces have repeatedly targeted DTEK facilities and personnel in 2025. In late October, a Russian strike hit a DTEK mine in the region while 496 workers were underground. No injuries were reported at the time.
Earlier on Sunday, a Russian drone attack also hit the city of Dnipro, killing two civilians – a man and a woman. Ganzha said the drone destroyed a private home, triggering a fire.
Two other houses and a car were damaged, and emergency services extinguished the blaze.