Russian Drone Strike Kills 14 at Dnipro Railway Station

A Russian drone strike killed at least 14 people at the main railway station in Dnipro, central Ukraine, on Thursday, October 29, 2026, as passengers prepared to board trains. Ukrainian officials reported additional deadly attacks across the country, bringing the death toll to at least 19, while a temporary ceasefire near Russian-occupied Oleshky allowed preparations for humanitarian aid deliveries.

Ukraine's state railway company, Ukrzaliznytsia, said a jet-powered Russian drone struck a platform where a train was preparing to depart for Zaporizhzhia. Officials reported 14 people wounded in Dnipro, including an 11-year-old boy among six critically injured, according to regional Governor Oleksandr Hanzha. Other reports gave a lower injury count for the station attack.

Medical officials said victims suffered shrapnel wounds, and four injured people required emergency surgery. CBS News reported that one 40-year-old man lost both legs. Across the country, the day's attacks injured 56 people, including 10 children, according to Ukrainian authorities cited by CBS News.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the railway station attack and linked the wider escalation to international decisions concerning sanctions against Russia.

"horrific" Zelenskyy described the Dnipro attack as, according to Al Jazeera's account of his response.

In a separate post on X, Zelenskyy questioned whether easing restrictions on Russian interests had encouraged further attacks.

"Just how many terrorist strikes has Russia carried out against our people since sanctions were lifted on certain Russian oligarchs and the Russian energy sector, rather than de-escalating?" Zelenskyy wrote.

He later accused Russian forces of deliberately targeting civilians while humanitarian preparations continued in the Kherson region.

"These are deliberate strikes against civilians, brazen in their cruelty, and the Russians are carrying them out right as the humanitarian operation in Oleshky is unfolding," Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy also urged Ukraine's allies to increase pressure on Moscow.

"Russia's signals are clear – they want the war to continue," he said.

He called on international partners to apply "appropriate pressure on the aggressor." The United States had waived several sanctions related to Russian fossil fuel sales earlier in October, a decision that angered Kyiv.

Ukraine's presidential commissioner for sanctions policy, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, argued that sanctions relief should follow changes in Russian behavior.

"You cannot lift sanctions and then expect the Russians to take any action. Constructive actions must come first, and then everything else," Vlasiuk told CNN.

Russian attacks also killed two 15-year-old girls in Chernihiv, northern Ukraine, and three civilians in a strike on an apartment building in Kremenchuk, according to Ukrainian authorities. Russian forces also damaged an educational institution in Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

Al Jazeera correspondent Audrey MacAlpine said the attacks reflected a broader pattern of strikes against Ukrainian transport networks and other infrastructure.

"This marks a trend that we've seen lately here in Ukraine of Russian strikes targeting not only the country's infrastructure, including energy installations, but also increasingly some of its transport logistics like railway stations and sometimes even those railways themselves," MacAlpine said.

She also pointed to mounting civilian casualties documented by United Nations human rights monitors.

"Also, there has been a larger trend of mounting civilian casualties, according to UN human rights monitoring. Both Russia and Ukraine have seen their deadliest year of the war so far. This is all part of an upward trend that we've really noted here in Kyiv, with many, many attacks," MacAlpine added.

Meanwhile, a six-day local ceasefire around Russian-occupied Oleshky in the Kherson region remained in effect after beginning Tuesday. The arrangement was intended to facilitate humanitarian assistance for residents trapped amid fighting and shortages of electricity, food and water.

Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said the parties were respecting the agreement and that aid deliveries were expected to begin Friday.

"The parties are fully adhering to the agreements, and no violations of the ceasefire have been reported," Lubinets said.

Russia's human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, also confirmed that the truce was holding as engineers worked to clear mines from roads around Oleshky.

"Both sides are fully honoring their commitments, and no violations have been recorded," Lantratova said.

She said the arrangement was allowing preparations for a safe humanitarian convoy to continue.

"This allows military personnel to continue clearing roads of mines and to prepare a safe passage for the humanitarian convoy," she added.

Lantratova said she and her team were traveling to the area for the aid operation, which she described as five months in the making. Officials said residents would be able to leave for Ukraine or Russia, although arrangements for evacuations remained unclear.

Oleshky volunteer Ksenia Arkhipova told The Associated Press that approximately 1,000 residents had expressed a desire to leave. She said some feared Russian authorities might identify people with pro-Ukrainian views or links to Ukraine's military.

In nearby Ukrainian-controlled Kherson, residents experienced a temporary respite from the attacks. Coffee kiosk operator Nataliia Myronenko, 42, said business had improved as people felt safer going outside.

"Now, during the quiet, we have people at lunchtime and in the evening, which we didn't have under the attacks," Myronenko said.

She described the change in daily life during the pause in fighting.

"For a while, people would race down this street because they were afraid to stop," she said.

Myronenko said the relative calm offered relief despite the continuing danger from mines.

"It's a breath of freedom, when you don't look at the sky. You keep looking at your feet because of the mines, but you're not afraid of dying. It's so great," she said.

She acknowledged that the respite might not last.

"It's such a privilege and a joy, but we understand it will end soon," Myronenko added.

Russia also reported a large Ukrainian drone assault overnight. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defenses destroyed 231 drones approaching the capital, while Russian authorities reported additional interceptions farther from the city. Russia's Defense Ministry claimed that its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 1,214 Ukrainian drones across Russian regions.

Russian state media reported that the attacks coincided with a summit in Moscow attended by more than 22 African leaders. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticized the timing, describing Kyiv's decision to target Moscow during the gathering as "very strange," according to TASS.

Authorities in Sterlitamak, in Russia's Bashkortostan region, reported minor damage after drone debris fell on an industrial facility. Mayor Emil Shaimardanov said the plant continued operating normally and that local air defenses had intercepted all eight drones involved in that attack.

The latest exchanges came as Moscow and Kyiv prepared for possible renewed peace talks next month with US mediation. Russian President Vladimir Putin also discussed cooperation with American technology entrepreneur Elon Musk concerning satellite operations as Russia develops its own system comparable to Starlink.

"Elon Musk is a genius. Truly, a real genius," Putin said Wednesday.

Putin also described continued engagement with American partners despite political tensions.

"We and our American partners value this relationship, and despite all the political issues, we continue to work closely together," he said.