Civilian train hit as Russian strikes leave 12 dead in Ukraine

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said a passenger train in the Kharkiv region was hit by Russian Shahed drones, leaving at least five people dead.

The train was carrying more than 200 passengers, including children.

“In Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, Russians have targeted a passenger train with Shahed drones. As rescue efforts continue, at least five people are already dead,” Svyrydenko wrote on X.

“There were more than 200 people on board at the time, including small children,” she added.

Describing the strike as deliberate, the prime minister said: “A deliberate attack on a civilian train is pure terrorism — a conscious crime against peaceful people and against humanity itself.”

She said Russia should be held accountable for every strike carried out in Ukraine.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also condemned the attack, calling it an act of terrorism.

“Today, Russia struck a passenger train in the Kharkiv region with attack drones. In any country, a drone strike on a civilian train would be regarded purely as an act of terrorism,” Zelenskyy said.

“There is, and can be, no military justification for killing civilians in a train carriage,” he added. Zelenskyy said more than 200 people were on the train, with 18 passengers in the carriage hit by one of the drones.

According to the president, the attack involved three drones and has so far resulted in four confirmed deaths, with two people injured. Rescue teams are continuing to search for four others. He expressed condolences to the families of the victims.

Deadliest year for civilians

Meanwhile, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said 2025 was the deadliest year for civilians in the country since 2022.

In its latest monthly update, HRMMU said conflict-related violence in Ukraine in 2025 killed 2,514 civilians and injured 12,142 others.

The total number of civilian casualties in 2025 was 31 per cent higher than in 2024 — when 2,088 people were killed and 9,138 injured — and 70 per cent higher than in 2023, which saw 1,974 deaths and 6,651 injuries.

The vast majority of casualties verified by HRMMU in 2025 occurred in government-controlled territory as a result of attacks launched by Russian armed forces, accounting for 97 per cent of the total — 2,395 killed and 11,751 injured.