Russian Drone Strikes Ukrainian Railway Platform, Killing 13

Thirteen people were killed after a Russian drone struck a platform at the main railway station in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. The attack also injured at least five people.

Al Jazeera reported on Thursday (29 October 2026) that Ukraine’s state railway company, Ukrzaliznytsia, said a jet-powered drone hit the platform as a train was preparing to depart for Zaporizhzhia, which is not far from Dnipro. Oleksandr Hanzha, governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, reported the casualties on Telegram.

Russia also attacked Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the attack damaged an educational institution.

Ukrainian authorities also reported Russian attacks in several regions the previous night. One took place in the Rivne area and killed a man.

Meanwhile, Russian news agencies, citing the Defence Ministry, reported that Russian forces had attacked a cargo ship used by the Ukrainian military in the Black Sea.

Russia claims to have destroyed hundreds of Ukrainian drones

Russia, meanwhile, claimed to have intercepted and destroyed hundreds of Ukrainian drones heading towards Moscow in a major attack from Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

Russian state news agency TASS reported that 613 drones had been launched towards Moscow. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defences destroyed 231 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as they approached the city. Other drones were neutralised farther away.

The Kremlin condemned the attack, which took place while Moscow was hosting a summit attended by more than 22 African leaders.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Kyiv’s decision to target Moscow at that time as “very strange”.

Russia’s Defence Ministry also said its air defences had intercepted and destroyed 1,214 Ukrainian drones across the country overnight.

In Sterlitamak, the second-largest city in Russia’s Bashkortostan region, falling drone debris caused minor damage at an unnamed industrial facility.

Sterlitamak Mayor Emil Shaimardanov said the plant remained in normal operation. He also said local air defences had shot down eight Ukrainian drones involved in the attack.

The attack adds to a series of large-scale drone strikes targeting the Moscow region. In September, Russia said its air defences had shot down more than 1,600 drones in what it described as one of the largest attacks on the Russian capital.