KYIV — A Russian drone struck a passenger bus in southeastern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing five people and wounding at least seven, Ukrainian regional officials said. The attack took place in the Nikopol district of Dnipropetrovsk region, near the front line.

The Associated Press reported that all five people died at the scene and that the wounded were receiving medical care. Reuters, citing the regional governor and other Ukrainian officials, also reported five dead and at least seven injured after a strike on a minibus carrying people through the area.

Nikopol lies opposite Russian-occupied territory on the other bank of the Dnipro River and has been repeatedly targeted during the war. The proximity to the front explains the danger of the route; it does not by itself establish the intended target or the circumstances of the strike.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as an atrocity with no military rationale, according to AP. Russia did not immediately comment in the reports, and both sides deny deliberately targeting civilians in the war.

The casualty figures are based on the first accounts from local authorities and may be revised. The verified account is narrower than the rhetoric surrounding it: a drone struck a passenger vehicle, five people were killed, at least seven were wounded and the incident is being investigated amid continuing attacks around Ukraine’s southern front.

*Reporting note: this article is based on the source record listed above and is current as of 16 September 2026. Figures, operational claims and casualty counts may change as authorities update their accounts.*