Russian drone strike on bus in Ukraine kills 12 miners

By Daria Tarasova-Markina, Sophie Tanno, CNN

(CNN) — At least 12 people have been killed and eight others wounded after a Russian drone struck a bus in Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region on Sunday, authorities said.

Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said Moscow had launched a “large-scale attack” on its coal mines in the region, striking a bus carrying miners who had just finished their shift.

“At least 12 mine workers have been killed and eight injured after Russia struck a bus transporting staff from a DTEK mine in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region,” DTEK said in an update on Sunday evening, revising the number of deaths down from 15.

Regional governor Oleksandr Ganzha confirmed the deadly attack in Pavlohrad district, Dnipropetrovsk region.

Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s Defense Minister, said that a Shahed drone struck near the bus, causing the bus to swerve into a fence.

As the injured passengers began to exit the bus, a second drone was directed “directly at the civilians,” he said.

“Operators from Russian territory 100 percent saw and recognized the target as civilian, saw that it was not military, and made a conscious decision to attack,” Beskrestnov said.

The strike sparked a fire, which has since been extinguished, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.

Ukrainian energy minister Denys Shmyhal labeled it “a cynical and deliberate attack on energy sector workers” and said “the enemy will be held accountable for these crimes,” in a post on Telegram.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as “a demonstrative crime, which once again shows that Russia is responsible for the escalation.”

The incident follows a strike on a maternity hospital in the city of Zaporizhzhia, also in Ukraine’s southeast, earlier Sunday. At least six people were injured in that attack, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

According to Ukraine’s health ministry, all medical staff and patients were in shelters at the time of the attack, including three women who were in labor.

Meanwhile, efforts are ongoing to prevent Russian forces from using Starlink to guide their drones over Ukraine.

Ukraine’s defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Sunday that Kyiv was working with Elon Musk’s SpaceX company to ensure that only authorized Starlink internet terminals will function in the country. “Unverified terminals will be disabled,” he said.

Zelensky confirmed in a post on X Sunday that the next round of trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the US aimed at ending the war in Ukraine will take place on February 4 and 5 in Abu Dhabi.

In his daily address on Sunday, Zelensky said that the framework of the talks would be determined on Monday.

Russian state media outlet TASS later also reported that the talks would take place for “the middle of the week,” citing a source.

The second talks were originally tentatively scheduled to take place on Sunday, although Zelensky warned days earlier that they could be postponed amid the developing situation between the US and Iran.

The first such talks took place in the United Arab Emirates’ capital last weekend and were hailed by all sides as “constructive.”

This story and headline has been updated with additional developments.

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CNN’s Victoria Butenko and Mitchell McCluskey contributed reporting.