Dnipro railway station: 13 killed in Russian jet-drone strike on a platform, Ukrainian officials say

At least 13 people were killed on the morning of 29 October when a Russian jet-powered drone hit a platform at the railway station in Dnipro, central Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said. Russia has not commented on the strike in the sources read for this report, and the casualty figures come only from the Ukrainian side and are preliminary.

What Ukrainian officials say

Ukraine’s state railway company, Ukrzaliznytsia, said the drone struck one of the station’s platforms where commuter train No. 866, on the Dnipro to Zaporizhzhia route, was standing. The company said people remained on the platform despite an air-raid alert and a warning of heightened danger. According to the Kyiv Independent, which cited Ukraine’s Air Force, four Russian jet-powered drones attacked the area at about 11:00 local time and three were shot down before reaching their targets.

Dnipropetrovsk regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha reported on Telegram that 13 people were killed and that medics were treating the wounded; at 11:29 he said medical teams were already at the scene. Reports differ on the number of injured, from at least five to about 13, which is why the toll should be treated as provisional. Dnipro mayor Borys Filatov said a drone hit a passenger electric train.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called it a “horrific” Russian attack. He said a commuter train and a regular passenger train were standing at the platform, and he urged the European Union, the United States and the G7 to impose new and stronger sanctions on Russia.

Other strikes the same morning

Ukrainian regional officials reported further casualties elsewhere on 29 October, as relayed by the news agency UNN. Dmytro Bryzhynskyi, head of the Chernihiv city military administration, reported two killed and four wounded, including a child. Vitalii Diakivnych, head of the Poltava regional military administration, reported two killed and two wounded in Kremenchuk, including a six-year-old. In Zaporizhzhia, acting regional administration head Mykhailo Semikin said an FPV drone hit a municipal bus and wounded four people. These figures are the officials’ own and have not been confirmed by an independent body.

Context

The Kyiv Independent noted that Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s railway infrastructure, including passenger trains, and that new rules during air-raid alerts now sometimes see passengers taken out of stations for hours. Geopolitiki reported on 28 October that Russia had launched an Iskander-M missile and 88 drones overnight, with a jet drone wounding five people in Kharkiv: see Kharkiv: five wounded, including a four-year-old boy, by a Russian jet drone, as Russia fires an Iskander-M and 88 drones at Ukraine overnight. A UN Commission of Inquiry also published its findings on strikes on Ukraine’s energy system the same week: UN Commission of Inquiry: Russia committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in strikes on Ukraine’s energy system.