Russian drone kills 12 Ukrainian miners in attack on bus in Dnipropetrovsk

A Russian drone strike hit a bus carrying miners in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region on Sunday, killing at least 12 people.

Ukrainian emergency services later reported that the death toll had risen to 15 in one of the deadliest attacks on energy workers since the start of the war.

Sunday’s attack came hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the postponement of a new round of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.

A DTEK spokesperson, The largest private energy company in Ukrainewhich employed the workers, told Fox News Digital that drones targeted the bus as it traveled “about 40 miles from the front line in central and eastern Ukraine.”

The DTEK spokesperson also described the incident as a “terrorist attack on civil infrastructure.

“This strike was a targeted terrorist attack against civilians and another crime committed by Russia against critical infrastructure,” the spokesperson added.

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The bus was carrying miners after the end of their shift when it was struck by a Russian drone, the Finance Ministry said. State Emergency Service of Ukraine also confirmed.

At least seven workers were injured and the fire started by the impact was later extinguished by emergency crews.

“The epicenter of one of the attacks was a company bus transporting company miners after a trip to the Dnipropetrovsk region,” the company also said in a statement.

Zelensky condemned the strike Sunday evening, calling it another deliberate attack against civilians.

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Earlier today he announced that next round of trilateral negotiations The event involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States will now take place on February 4-5 in Abu Dhabi, after it was originally scheduled for Sunday.

“Ukraine is ready for a substantive discussion and we want to ensure that the outcome brings us closer to a real and worthy end to the war,” Zelensky said on X, adding that the delay had been accepted by all parties.

The delay follows a surprise meeting Saturday in Florida between Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy, and Kirill Dmitriev, the Kremlin’s special envoy and director of the Russian sovereign wealth fund.

Talks in Abu Dhabi are now expected to include representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the United States, according to the Associated Press.

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Meanwhile, Zelensky warned that Russia intensifies its air campaign against civilian and logistical targets.

“Over the past week, Russia has used more than 980 attack drones, nearly 1,100 guided aerial bombs and two missiles against Ukraine,” he wrote on X on Sunday. “We are recording Russian attempts to destroy logistics and connectivity between cities and communities.”

In a statement, DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko also explained that the bus attack was “the company’s biggest loss.” [of] life of DTEK employees since the full-scale invasion of Russia.

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“We can already say with certainty that this is an unprovoked terrorist attack on a purely civilian target, for which there can be no justification,” Timchenko said.

The attack marked “one of the darkest days in our history,” he added. “DTEK teams are working with emergency services on the ground in the Dnipropetrovsk region to ensure that the injured and families who have lost loved ones receive all the care and support they need. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten,” he added.