At least 14 people were killed and at least 14 others injured when a Russian jet-powered drone targeted a crowded platform at the main railway station in Dnipro, officials in central Ukraine reported. According to Dnipropetrovsk regional head Oleksandr Hanzha, an 11-year-old boy was among those wounded in the attack. The site of the strike has been cordoned off as Ukrainian authorities conduct an ongoing investigation into the incident.
Ukraine's state railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, stated that a passenger train bound for the southern city of Zaporizhzhia was positioned alongside one of the platforms in Dnipro when the strike occurred. Ukrzaliznytsia chief Oleksandr Pertsovsky noted that an elevated threat level had been announced prior to Thursday's attack, though a large crowd of people remained present on the platform when the drone hit. Expressing grief, Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov described the event as a tragedy, adding that the drone directly struck an electric civilian train.
Images released by Ukrainian emergency rescue services showed a wide hole blown into the platform, surrounded by blurred-out bodies near a blast-damaged train with smashed windows. Commenting on the strike, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that "the Russians used a drone to attack a platform where a regular commuter train and a regular passenger train were standing."
Lethal strikes were also reported in other parts of Ukraine on the same day. In the northern city of Chernihiv, a Russian missile strike on the city center killed two 15-year-old girls, according to regional head Vyacheslav Chaus. At least 25 other people, including four children, were injured in that attack. Meanwhile, in the central Poltava region, a Russian drone attack in Kremenchuk hit residential buildings and a school, killing three people and injuring 28, regional head Vitaliy Diakivnych stated, with local officials also noting at least 25 injured. In response to the casualties, a formal day of mourning was declared for both Dnipro and Chernihiv on Friday.
Amid the reported casualties, Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, posted on Telegram that a truce was holding into its third day. Simultaneously, Russian state news agency Tass reported that the Kremlin condemned Ukrainian drone strikes directed at Moscow while the capital was hosting the Russia-Africa Summit. The two-day diplomatic gathering was attended by African leaders and official government delegations representing 48 countries. Moscow's mayor claimed that 613 Ukrainian drones were launched overnight toward the Moscow region, asserting that the vast majority were intercepted in flight.
While Russia's military has not publicly commented on the Dnipro train station attack specifically, Moscow's defense ministry has consistently denied intentionally targeting civilians. Russian military statements maintain that strikes against Ukrainian railway infrastructure are intended to disrupt the movement of military personnel and equipment. Nevertheless, train network attacks have intensified significantly, posing severe hazards to civilian passengers.
Data provided by Ukrzaliznytsia to the AFP news agency highlights the expanding scale of damage to rail assets. Out of 521 locomotives hit since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, nearly 60 percent have been struck during this year alone. Total recorded attacks targeting Ukrainian railway facilities have also climbed dramatically, rising from 1,206 in 2025 to 1,700 so far this year. The rail strikes coincide with a broader campaign against critical infrastructure across Ukraine in recent weeks, which has included attacks on two bridges in the capital city of Kyiv and a direct hit on a metro train during one of the aerial bombardments.
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