Nine reported killed in Russian strike on civilian bus in Ukraine

Nine people have been killed in a Russian drone attack on a civilian bus in north-eastern Ukraine, local officials say.

The Sumy regional military administration said four other people were injured in the town of Bilopillia on Saturday morning as the bus travelled to the regional capital Sumy, close to Russia’s border.

The reported attack comes just hours after Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks since 2022. No breakthrough was achieved, although a swap of prisoners of war was agreed.

Ukraine’s national police described the bus attack as a “cynical war crime”. Russia has not commented directly but said it had hit a “military staging area” in Sumy.

In a statement, the police service said: “The Russian army has once again struck a civilian object, disregarding all norms or international law and humanity.”

Citing preliminary information, Sumy regional head Oleh Hryhorov said the bus was hit by a Russian Lancet drone at 06:17 local time on Saturday (03:17 GMT).

He described the attack as “inhumane”.

Friday’s talks in Istanbul, Turkey, did not lead to any breakthrough as Ukraine and Russia remain far apart on how to end the war.

However, it was agreed that each side would return 1,000 prisoners of war to the other in the coming days.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukraine used Sumy to launch offensives into Russia’s Kursk region in August. Russia drove the majority of Ukraine’s troops back earlier this year and has intensified cross-border artillery and air attacks in recent months.