RUSSIAN DRONE STRIKES DNIPRO STATION PLATFORM, KILLING AT LEAST 13

A Russian jet-powered drone struck a crowded platform at Dnipro’s main railway station on Thursday, according to Ukraine’s state railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia. Ukrainian accounts put the death toll at 13 to 14 and the number injured at 10 to 14. Ukrzaliznytsia said a passenger train bound for Zaporizhzhia stood at the platform when the drone hit. Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov said the strike hit a civilian electric train. Firefighters, paramedics and police went to the station to help those injured.

Ukrzaliznytsia said it had issued a warning of heightened danger before the strike. Its chief, Oleksandr Pertsovsky, said many people remained on the platform. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a commuter train and a scheduled passenger train stood there when the drone struck. “Tragedy in Dnipro,” Filatov wrote shortly after the attack. Images released by Ukrainian rescue services showed a hole in the platform and a train with smashed windows.

Zelenskyy called for further US, European and G7 sanctions on Russia. He criticised an agreement reached earlier this month by Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin that eased some sanctions on Moscow and allowed US imports of Russian diesel. Russia’s military had not publicly commented on the Dnipro strike; Moscow has denied deliberately targeting civilians during attacks on Ukraine’s railway network. Separately, Chernihiv regional head Vyacheslav Chaus said a Russian missile attack killed two girls in the city centre.