Russian drone kills driver in strike on passenger train in Odesa region

A Russian jet-powered Shahed drone struck the locomotive of the Odesa-Dnipro passenger train on Thursday morning, 13 August, in the Berezivka district of Ukraine's Odesa region, killing the driver and his assistant. Ukrzaliznytsia chairman Oleksandr Pertsovskyi confirmed the deaths.

According to Pertsovskyi, a monitoring team had spotted the drone in time and ordered the train to stop near a station. However, the drone made a sudden manoeuvre, leaving the crew too little time to evacuate after the train had already stopped.

Footage released by Ukraine's national emergency services shows the severely damaged locomotive as firefighters work to extinguish the flames. A nearby carriage was left with shattered windows, while passengers carrying their luggage boarded evacuation buses.

All 340 passengers aboard the train, including 67 children, were evacuated safely and transported to Odesa in 21 buses.

Zelenskyy renews calls for stronger air defence

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the drone operator could not have been unaware that the train was carrying civilians, and repeated his calls for strengthened air defences.

Ukraine's air force reported that Russia launched 133 drones at the country overnight, of which 111 were intercepted. Strikes elsewhere in Ukraine wounded six more people.