Ukrainian drone hits civilian bus in Donetsk, killing seven, as Kyiv launches mass strike on Russian energy targets

The bus attack in Yenakiieve

A Ukrainian drone hit a passenger bus on the Moscow-Simferopol route near Yenakiieve in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine's Donetsk region in the early hours of Wednesday, 3 June. Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-appointed head of the region, said on Telegram that seven civilians were killed and 11 others wounded, including a child. The bus was reportedly stopping to pick up passengers when it was struck. Russia's Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under the "terrorist attack" statute, according to spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko.

Ukrainian fascists committed another act of unprecedented and inhumane aggression in the early hours of this morning. A combat drone attacked a bus on the Moscow-Simferopol route in Yenakiieve.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova described the attack as part of a Ukrainian "manhunt" against civilians, while special ambassador Rodion Miroshnik accused Kyiv of using Western military and financial support "to paralyse civilian transport links and create unbearable living conditions." Ukraine, which consistently states it targets only military and industrial objects, did not immediately comment. Independent verification of the incident was not available.

Kyiv's overnight drone barrage

Simultaneously, Ukraine launched one of its largest long-range drone attacks on Russian territory. Russia's Defence Ministry reported that 354 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones were intercepted and destroyed overnight over 15 regions, including Moscow, Belgorod, Kursk, Smolensk, and Leningrad, as well as annexed Crimea and the Sea of Azov. Leningrad Governor Alexander Drozdenko said around 50 drones were shot down in his region alone.

Strikes on St Petersburg and energy infrastructure

Ukrainian drones reached St Petersburg, roughly 1,200 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, hitting infrastructure in several districts. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces struck strategic targets, including an oil terminal in St Petersburg used "for military purposes," military facilities at the Kronstadt naval base, and an arms factory in the Tambov region. The oil terminal is part of the Great Port of St Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland, one of Russia's largest fuel storage and export facilities, with an estimated handling volume of 12.5 million tonnes per year. Black smoke was observed above the infrastructure, and residents posted photos and videos of explosions and fires. Pulkovo Airport temporarily restricted flights.

Ukrainian forces struck several strategic targets, including an oil terminal in St Petersburg, military facilities at the Kronstadt naval base, and an arms factory in the Tambov region.

The broader escalation context

The drone exchanges came one day after Russia's massive missile and drone barrage on Ukraine on 2 June, which killed at least 23 people and wounded more than 130. Sixteen of those deaths were in the city of Dnipro. Ukraine's air force reported that Moscow launched 656 drones overnight into Tuesday morning, with 54 drones and 33 missiles penetrating its air defences. Russia said that attack was retaliation for a deadly Ukrainian assault on a dormitory in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region two weeks ago, which Kyiv denies targeting.

On the Ukrainian side, a Russian drone attack killed an 86-year-old woman in the Kherson region, according to the head of the regional military administration, Yaroslav Shanko. The St Petersburg strikes coincided with the opening of the International Economic Forum, an annual conference of business leaders and government officials hosted by President Vladimir Putin.