Engulfed in flames, smoke: 2 killed as Russia hits passenger train with 340 onboard, says Zelenskyy
A passenger train with 340 people onboard was attacked in Ukraine’s Odesa region on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed, saying the train’s driver and his assistant were killed in the strike.Zelenskyy said a Russian drone struck the locomotive of the passenger train. He said the target was a civilian train and that the operator of the drone could not have been unaware of its nature. The claims have not been independently verified.“Today in the Odesa region, the Russians once again destroyed an ordinary passenger train locomotive with a jet-powered drone. There were 340 people on the train,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.“As of now, unfortunately, we know that the locomotive engineer and his assistant were killed in the strike,” he added, offering condolences to their families.Zelenskyy also said Russian forces carried out strikes across 11 Ukrainian regions overnight, using more than 130 attack drones.He called for greater air defence support for Ukraine and increased international pressure on Russia, saying stronger action was needed to stop the war.The attack comes amid continued Russian drone and missile strikes across Ukraine, with Odesa and its surrounding region frequently targeted.
Ukraine’s drones hit major Russian refinery
As the attacks continue from both sides, Ukrainian forces were later reported to have struck the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil refining and petrochemical complex in Russia’s Bashkortostan overnight, causing a fire, Ukraine’s General Staff said. The facility, located about 1,300 km from Ukraine’s border, is one of Russia’s largest oil refineries and petrochemical complexes.The General Staff said the plant can process up to 74 million barrels of oil annually, producing gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products. “The complex is one of Russia’s largest oil refining and petrochemical facilities,” it said.Bashkortostan Governor Radiy Khabirov said a drone attack wounded two civilians and started a fire in an industrial zone in Salavat. The strike was the fourth major Ukrainian attack on Russian energy infrastructure in three days, according to AP.
