Russian Strike on Ukrainian Bus Kills 30 as Kyiv Faces Worsening Blackouts

KYIV, Oct 8: Russian strikes across Ukraine killed 30 people and injured at least 18, including in an attack on a public bus, authorities said on Thursday, as Moscow intensified its aerial campaign ahead of winter and emergency power cuts affected the capital, Kyiv.

Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk regional military administration, announced the suspension of public transport in Kramatorsk and neighbouring Sloviansk following a sharp deterioration in security. He accused Russian forces of deliberately targeting civilians and said protecting passengers and drivers had become the priority.

The latest casualties came a day after deadly missile strikes hit Pryluky in northern Ukraine. The death toll there climbed to 22, including five children, while at least 54 people were injured. Rescue teams continued searching the rubble of a damaged residential building for missing residents, with sniffer dogs assisting the operation.

Heavy debris was cleared from the impact site as emergency workers searched nearby areas. Some survivors were reportedly forced to spend the night in severely damaged apartments after failing to find alternative accommodation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russian missile and drone attacks could intensify further as temperatures fall. He urged NATO members to provide additional military assistance, including air defence systems, ammunition for combat aircraft and funding for interceptor drones.

In an online statement, Zelenskyy stressed that international commitments must translate into concrete military support, saying that additional supplies could help protect lives amid the continuing attacks.

Meanwhile, energy company DTEK said Ukraine’s national grid operator, Ukrenergo, had ordered emergency electricity cuts in Kyiv. The measures were separate from the scheduled rolling outages already being implemented across the country and would operate outside those planned shutdowns.

Authorities have renewed public preparedness efforts ahead of the winter season, urging households to assemble emergency kits, store drinking water and arrange alternative electricity sources. The campaign comes amid concerns that continued strikes on energy infrastructure could result in prolonged blackouts.

Kyiv police also reported that bomb disposal specialists had neutralised two unexploded ballistic missile warheads, each weighing approximately half a tonne, found near residential buildings.

On Wednesday night, Russian drones struck the capital’s Obolonskyi and Desnianskyi districts, killing four people and injuring 12 others, including four children, according to police.

The latest attacks underscore the continuing aerial confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, whose ground forces remain largely locked in a stalemate along much of the front line more than four and a half years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

Elsewhere, Russian technology company Yandex reported damage to one of its data centres in the western Ryazan region following a Ukrainian drone attack. The facility was taken offline, raising the possibility of disruptions to online services.

Ukraine’s General Staff separately claimed that its forces had struck a major oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Salavat, approximately 1,200 kilometres east of Moscow. The facility is considered one of Russia’s largest industrial sites of its kind. The claim could not be independently verified.