Additional Coverage:
- Russia kills 12 Ukrainian miners in deadly bus attack hours after peace talks postponed (foxnews.com)
Russian Drone Strike Kills 15 Miners in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk Region Amid Postponed Peace Talks
A Russian drone strike tragically claimed the lives of at least 15 miners in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region on Sunday, marking one of the deadliest attacks on energy workers since the conflict began. The bus, transporting miners after their shift, was hit roughly 40 miles from the front line in central and eastern Ukraine, according to DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy firm, which employed the victims.
Ukrainian emergency services initially reported 12 fatalities, with the death toll later rising to 15. Seven workers were also injured in the strike, which sparked a fire that emergency crews have since extinguished.
DTEK described the incident as a “terrorist attack on civilian infrastructure,” with a spokesperson stating, “This strike was a targeted terrorist attack against civilians and another crime by Russia against critical infrastructure.” Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK, called it the company’s “single largest loss of life of DTEK employees since Russia’s full-scale invasion,” and “one of the darkest days in our history.”
The attack occurred just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a new round of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia had been postponed. The trilateral meeting, which was expected on Sunday, will now take place on February 4-5 in Abu Dhabi and is anticipated to include representatives from Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S.
Zelenskyy stated that “Ukraine is ready for a substantive discussion” and is “interested in ensuring that the outcome brings us closer to a real and dignified end to the war.” The delay was agreed upon by all sides and followed a surprise meeting in Florida between special envoys from President Donald Trump and the Kremlin.
Zelenskyy condemned the drone strike as another deliberate attack on civilians, warning that Russia is intensifying its aerial campaign against civilian and logistical targets. He noted that over the past week, Russia has utilized “more than 980 attack drones, nearly 1,100 guided aerial bombs, and two missiles against Ukraine,” with attempts to disrupt “logistics and connectivity between cities and communities.”