A Russian glide bomb tore through two passenger buses in Kramatorsk on Thursday, turning them into burning metal shells. The strike on the front-line eastern Ukrainian city left at least 30 people dead, marking one of the bloodiest single days for civilians in recent memory. Authorities say the attack was intentionally designed to inflict maximum casualties.
According to Vadym Filashkin, the head of the Donetsk regional military administration, another three people were killed in the nearby village of Bilenke, and 18 others were wounded in the area. Filashkin accused Russian forces of deliberately targeting public transport at a crowded hour. Images released by local prosecutors showed a horrific scene of blackened, twisted bus frames, scattered debris, and bodies on the asphalt.
Transport Halted and Evacuations Urged
The devastation prompted immediate emergency measures. Filashkin ordered an indefinite halt to all public transport in both Kramatorsk and neighboring Slovyansk. “We have no right to risk the lives of passengers and drivers,” he said, pleading with remaining residents to flee the region immediately.
Both cities form a crucial defensive line in the industrial Donbas region, which Moscow has sought to capture since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022. With almost all of Luhansk province under Russian control, the Kremlin is now focusing its firepower on the remaining 20 percent of Donetsk province still held by Ukraine.
The Growing Menace of Glide Bombs
Kramatorsk, once a vital military and logistics hub for Ukraine, is now in easy range of Russian artillery and air power. The city is increasingly targeted by glide bombs. These heavy, Soviet-era munitions are retrofitted with wings and guidance systems, allowing Russian jets to release them from safe distances. They strike with massive explosive power and little warning; local officials noted that as many as nine glide bombs hit Kramatorsk in a single day late last month.
The city council condemned the attack as a “horrific crime,” pointing out that there were no military targets near the bus stop.
A Rising Toll Across the Country
This latest tragedy comes amid a major escalation of Russian airstrikes across Ukraine. Just a day earlier, a missile hit a five-story apartment block in Pryluky, east of Kyiv. That strike killed 22 people, including five children—three of whom were just a year old.
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband visited the scene in Pryluky alongside President Volodymyr Zelensky. Miliband condemned what he called Vladimir Putin’s “evil strategy” and announced new British sanctions targeting Russian oil companies, shadow shipping fleets, and cryptocurrency networks used to fund the war.
Meanwhile, the capital, Kyiv, has faced near-constant air sirens. Police reported four deaths in the city on Thursday alone. The persistent strikes on Ukraine’s power grid are causing widespread blackouts and water shortages, even briefly forcing the capital’s metro system to halt operations due to sudden voltage drops. Zelensky has urged Ukraine’s allies to respond to the escalating violence with fast, concrete military aid.