Zelensky Calls for Harsher Sanctions After Russian Deadly Bus Attack

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Saturday for stronger sanctions on Moscow after a Russian drone killed nine bus passengers in northeastern Ukraine just hours after the two countries held their first peace talks in three years of war.

The meeting of Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey on Friday failed to broker a temporary ceasefire. It was the first direct dialogue between the two sides since the early months of the war that Russia launched in February 2022.

Commenting on the drone strike in the Sumy region, Zelenskyy said on X: “All the deceased were civilians. And the Russians could not have failed to understand what kind of vehicle they were targeting. This was a deliberate killing of civilians.”

Ukrainian police posted photos of a dark blue passenger van nearly destroyed, with the roof torn off and the windows blown out.

“Pressure must be exerted on Russia to stop the killings. Without tougher sanctions, without stronger pressure, Russia will not seek real diplomacy,” Zelenskyy said.

He said Russia had sent to Istanbul “a weak and unprepared” delegation without a meaningful mandate while real steps were needed to end the war.

“We are expecting strong sanctions against Russia from the United States, from Europe, and from all our partners. Diplomacy must start working,” Zelenskyy stated.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been pushing Moscow and Kyiv to hold peace talks, said before the two countries’ negotiators met in Istanbul that “nothing could happen” until he had met directly with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

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