Fifteen individuals lost their lives, and seven others sustained injuries following an assault by a Russian drone on a bus transporting miners in Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, as confirmed by both energy company DTEK and government authorities on Sunday. This incident occurred shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the scheduling of a second round of trilateral discussions brokered by the United States between Ukraine and Russia for the upcoming week.
According to DTEK, Russian military forces executed a “significant terrorist act” on a company mine in the region, resulting in all the casualties being employees returning from their work shift. Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal condemned the attack as a deliberate strike on energy sector workers in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The assault took place in the city of Ternivka, as depicted in footage shared by the State Emergencies Service showing a burned bus with shattered windows off the road. Concurrently, in southeastern Ukraine, two individuals were killed in an overnight drone strike on a residential structure in Dnipro, with at least nine individuals injured in Russian attacks on a maternity hospital and a residential building in Zaporizhzhia.
Despite Russia’s claim to halt attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure until February 1, President Zelenskyy mentioned that Russia was still targeting logistics within Ukraine. The upcoming U.S.-backed trilateral talks involving Ukraine and Russia are set to occur in Abu Dhabi next week, aiming to address the ongoing conflict and energy ceasefire concerns amidst severe winter conditions.
In Kyiv, where 1,000 apartment buildings lacked heating on Sunday due to a grid malfunction, Mayor Vitali Klitschko highlighted the urgency to restore heating amid plummeting temperatures. While officials did not directly link the issue to war damage, the widespread blackouts underscored Ukraine’s energy system’s vulnerability following prolonged Russian assaults.
Zelenskyy emphasized that Russia’s air attacks aimed to disrupt connectivity between cities and communities. DTEK announced the restoration of power to 300,000 households in Odesa, heavily impacted by the malfunction, with planned outages implemented by grid operator Ukrenergo across the country. Amidst concerns, including from individuals like 65-year-old veteran Anatoliy Veresenko in Kyiv, who remains cautious about the peace process, the region continues to brace for potential escalations.