A Russian drone strike hit a passenger bus in northeastern Ukraine on Saturday, killing nine people and injuring four others, Ukrainian officials allege.
The attack came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian officials held their first direct peace talks in years, although the two sides failed to reach a ceasefire agreement for the conflict that began with a February 2022 invasion by Moscow.
Ukraine’s national police released photos showing the aftermath of Saturday’s strike in the city of Bilopillia in the Sumy region. The city is about six miles from the front line and border with Russia.
“This is another war crime by Russia — a deliberate strike on civilian transport that posed no threat,” the Sumy regional administration said on Telegram.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “deliberate killing of civilians.”
A mourning period has been declared in Bilopillia from Saturday through Monday. Local community chief Yurii Zarko called the day of the attack “Black Saturday.”
The passengers on the bus were being evacuated from Bilopillia when the drone struck, according to local media outlet Suspilne. Authorities were working to identify some of the victims, most of whom were elderly women.
The injured victims were transported to a hospital in Sumy, the regional capital. Three people were listed in serious condition.
On Saturday morning, Russia’s defense ministry claimed its forces hit a military staging area in the Sumy region, around 31 miles southeast of Bilopillia, but did not mention any other attacks in the area.
It was not immediately clear how the strike would affect peace efforts.
On Friday, Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Turkey in an attempt to reach a temporary ceasefire, but the talks ended in less than two hours without a truce. The negotiations were the first face-to-face talks between the two countries since the early weeks of the war.
Both sides agreed on a large prisoner swap, but remained far apart on key conditions for ending the conflict.
One condition for Ukraine, which has the backing of its Western allies, is a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement. Russia, however, has pushed back against the truce, which remains elusive.
In Turkey, Russia and Ukraine agreed to each exchange 1,000 prisoners of war in what would be their biggest such swap, according to the heads of both delegations. Both sides also talked about a ceasefire and a meeting between their heads of state, according to chief Ukrainian delegate, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
An aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin said both sides also agreed to provide each other with detailed ceasefire proposals, with Ukraine requesting the heads of state meeting that Russia took under consideration.
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Zelenskyy said he discussed the negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of France, Germany, the U.K. and Poland. On X, he called for “tough sanctions” against Moscow if it rejects “a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings.”
Zelenskyy was in Tirana, Albania, on Friday, to meet with leaders of 47 European countries to discuss security, defense and democratic standards. The leaders he met included French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
“Pressure on Russia must be maintained until Russia is ready to end the war,” Zelenskyy said on X.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
