Ukraine on Thursday accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians after a strike hit two buses in the frontline city of Kramatorsk, killing 30 people in one of the deadliest attacks in weeks.

Police said the buses were hit by a glide bomb. Photos released by local authorities showed the burnt-out remains of the vehicles, with bodies and debris scattered along the road.

The strikes came a day after 22 people, including five children, were killed when a Russian missile hit a five-storey apartment building in Pryluky in the northern Chernihiv region.

‘The Russians are deliberately targeting civilians,’ Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin said, accusing Moscow of violating international humanitarian law.

Kramatorsk City Council also condemned the strike, saying it hit an area with no military targets.

Civilian casualties have risen as both sides intensify long-range attacks. Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russian forces of deliberately targeting civilians since Russia invaded in 2022.

The United Nations has verified more than 17,000 civilian deaths during the war but says the actual toll is considerably higher.

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian President Vladimir Putin had authorised large-scale attacks on civilian areas. The Kremlin has denied the allegation.

Security worsens

Kyiv has also come under increasingly frequent attacks. On Wednesday, Russia launched a barrage of ballistic and cruise missiles and jet-powered drones at the capital.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people were found dead on Thursday after a fire at a four-storey building that was hit by a drone in the densely populated Solomyansky district.

Klitschko said recent attacks on key transport bridges, the rail network and the energy grid were severely disrupting the capital. He also warned that Kyiv should prepare for further attacks.

Kramatorsk, which had a pre-war population of about 150,000, is one of the key cities in eastern Donetsk region that Russia has not captured. It has served as a logistics and supply hub for Ukrainian forces and is part of the so-called ‘fortress belt’ that Ukrainian troops are seeking to hold.

Russian forces have advanced close to the city’s eastern outskirts, prompting calls for remaining civilians to relocate to safer areas.

Filashkin said Thursday’s strike, which occurred at about 10:00am local time, marked a ‘sharp deterioration’ in the security situation. He ordered the suspension of public transport in Kramatorsk and neighbouring Sloviansk.

‘Under these circumstances, we cannot risk the lives of passengers and drivers,’ he said.

Ukraine last month launched a counteroffensive against Russian forces around Lyman, north of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, and said it had regained some territory.