A Russian glide bomb strike on two minibuses in Kramatorsk killed 33 people on the morning of Oct. 8, Ukraine’s emergency service (DSNS) said.
Eighteen more people were injured in the Russian attack, Donetsk regional governor Vadym Filashkin said. Fire broke out in at least two busses following the Russian strikes, according to DSNS.
“Russia comes to the Ukrainian land with death. She hits our cities, kills our people and multiplies her crimes every day,” Filashkin said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that doctors were still fighting for the lives of some of the injured people and warned that the number of dead may still increase. Two dead people could not yet be identified due to the severity of their injuries, he added.
“This strike will not go without our response. Russia is trying to destroy all life in Donbas, and the world needs to react to this,” Zelensky said.
Emergency service workers extinguish a burning bus after a Russian glide bomb attack on kramatorsk, Ukraine on Oct. 8, 2026 (Telegram/DSNS)
The Kramatorsk and Sloviansk military administrations ordered the stop of all public transport.
“The Russians are targeting civilians. For them, a bus with passengers is an attractive target precisely because one hit can kill as many people as possible,” Filashkin said.
Across Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast, four more people had been killed and six injured by Russian attacks as of the morning of Oct. 8, prior to the Kramatorsk strike, according to the governor.
Destruction across the road next to a bus stop where Russia attacked with glide bombs in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on Oct. 8, 2026 (Telegram/DSNS)
In total, Russian forces shelled settlements in the Donetsk region 31 times over the last day, and 256 people, including 32 children, were evacuated from the front line, according to the Donetsk governor.
Russia attacked across Ukraine with 142 Shahed-type drones, 82 of them jet-powered, on the night of Oct. 8, Ukraine’s air force said. The air force said that air defense shot down or suppressed 126 of these drones.
On Oct. 2, Russian forces struck a passenger bus with a first-person-view (FPV) drone in the front-line city of Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, at around 7:08 a.m., injuring two people, the Kramatorsk City Council said.
The bus was already operating on its route and carrying passengers when the attack occurred, according to the statement.