The key facts

  • Two children and a man born in 1961 were wounded in a nighttime drone attack on Melitopol
  • Private homes, an apartment building, and administrative buildings were damaged
  • The day before, a Moscow — Melitopol bus was attacked: three of eight people on board were injured

Strike on Melitopol and the casualties

Three people, including two children, were injured in a nighttime drone attack on Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia region. The region's governor, Yevgeny Balitsky, announced this on his Telegram channel. According to him, children born in 2015 and 2016, as well as a man born in 1961, were wounded; all of them are receiving the necessary medical care. The governor described the incident as a 'massive drone strike on peaceful Melitopol' (Gazeta.Ru).

Damage and work on the ground

According to the head of the region, the attack damaged civilian infrastructure: private homes, an apartment building, and administrative buildings. Emergency services are working on the scene, building structures are being inspected and the damage is being assessed (Gazeta.Ru).

Attack on the bus the day before

A day earlier, Ukrainian forces attacked a scheduled bus traveling on the Moscow — Melitopol route. At the moment of the drone strike, there were eight people on board — two drivers and six passengers. Three were wounded: one of the drivers is in serious condition, while the other driver and another passenger sustained moderate injuries. All the injured were taken to hospital (Gazeta.Ru).

Context and what remains unknown

The reports of the strikes on Melitopol and the bus come from a single source — the governor of Zaporizhzhia region, Yevgeny Balitsky; the cited publications contain no confirmation from other sources, nor any details about the circumstances of the attacks or a precise damage assessment, which, according to the governor, is still underway. Earlier, according to Gazeta.Ru, a drone attacked road workers in Zaporizhzhia region. A series of attacks over several days — on the city's civilian infrastructure and on an intercity bus carrying passengers — primarily affects the region's residents: the victims are civilians, including children, and housing and administrative buildings have been damaged, requiring structural inspections and the restoration of damaged facilities.