Russian Strikes Kill Dozens in Ukrainian Town

At least 30 people were killed in Ukraine on Thursday when Russian forces struck two passenger buses with a glide bomb in the frontline town of Kramatorsk. Dozens more were injured in the attack, according to national police.

Kramatorsk is a key city in the eastern Donetsk region that remains under Ukrainian control. It has served as a logistics and supply hub for the Ukrainian military. Russian forces have advanced near the city's eastern edge, prompting authorities to call for civilians to relocate to safer areas.

The Kramatorsk City Council described the strike as "another horrific crime committed by the Russian army against the civilian population," stating there were no military targets at the location.

This attack followed a Russian missile strike on an apartment block in the northern Chernihiv region on Wednesday, which killed 22 people, including five children. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned that intelligence services had detected preparations for a "massive" strike, which coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin's birthday.

The repeated aerial attacks highlight Ukraine's challenges in countering Russian ballistic missiles and new jet-powered drones. The Ukrainian military is working to develop advanced interceptors, but current air defense systems struggle against these weapons. Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a sustained aerial conflict as their ground forces remain largely in a stalemate more than four years after Russia's full-scale invasion.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen characterized the attacks as a "deliberate strategy of terror" by Russia, aimed at disrupting daily life for Ukrainians.