Russia fired a glide bomb at two civilian buses in Kramatorsk on October 8, 2026, killing 30 people and injuring 18, with residential buildings and cars also damaged. The strike, the deadliest single attack in weeks, prompted President Zelensky to declare it would "not go unanswered," warning that the death toll could rise further.
Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin accused Moscow of flouting every rule of warfare, labeling the bombing a "sharp deterioration" in security and suspending public transport in Kramatorsk and nearby Sloviansk.
Kramatorsk, once home to 150,000 residents, remains a key logistics hub for Ukrainian forces and sits within the so‑called "fortress belt" that Moscow claims as its own, with Russian troops edging close to its eastern fringes.
The attack follows a Thursday missile strike that flattened a five‑storey apartment block in Pryluky, killing 22 people, including five children, and underscores the rising civilian casualties—UN reports at least 17,000 deaths, a figure likely higher.
Zelensky has urged the United States to raise pressure on Russia, including supplying better air‑defence systems, while the international community watches for possible sanctions and coordinated military responses.