Escalating Violence: Russian Drone Strike Claims 30 Injured in Ukraine

Wed Oct 22 2025 04:47:22 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Ukraine faces increasing air assaults as President Zelensky condemns Russian attacks on civilian targets, calling for urgent international support.

In a recent Russian drone strike on a railway station in Shostka, Ukraine, at least 30 individuals were reported injured, including three children. President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack, labeling it as terrorism aimed at civilians. This incident highlights the recent escalation in Russian assaults, as Ukraine calls for increased support from Western allies to bolster its air defense capabilities.

At least 30 people have been injured following a Russian drone strike on a railway station in north-east Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

In a post on X, he said that preliminary reports indicated train staff and passengers were at the site of the strike in the city of Shostka, in the Sumy region.

Emergency services are on the scene and have begun helping people, he said, adding that information regarding the injured was still being established.

He also posted a video showing a damaged train carriage on fire.

The Russians could not have been unaware that they were targeting civilians. This is terrorism, which the world has no right to ignore, Zelensky wrote on X.

Every day Russia takes people's lives. And only strength can make them stop.

According to the regional governor Oleh Hryhorov and the Ukrainian Railways body, there were two strikes which hit two passenger trains.

Three children, aged 8, 11 and 14, were among the injured, Hryhorov said.

The second strike hit at a time when evacuations from the area were already underway, a statement from the railways body said.

It represented a vile attack aimed at stopping communication with our frontline communities, the statement continued. Shostka lies in northeastern Ukraine, some 50km from the Russian border.

Ukrainian Railways head Oleksandr Pertsovsky told reporters, including AFP, that there was no military purpose to the attack which instead was designed to sow panic among people.

He also said there had been an intensification of Russian attacks on railway infrastructure.

Zelensky in his post also called for action from the West, saying: We've heard resolute statements from Europe and America – and it's high time to turn them all into reality.

Russia has intensified its aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent weeks, regularly launching hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles.

Ukraine has long been urging its Western allies to provide it with enough advanced air defense weaponry to cope with these attacks.

Last Sunday, a massive 12-hour strike involving hundreds of drones and nearly 50 missiles left four people dead in Kyiv and at least 70 injured.

While global efforts have been made to mediate peace, Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to reject ceasefire calls, complicating the situation further.