Just hours after tentative peace talks between Ukraine and Russia resumed in Istanbul, violence once again returned to the forefront with tragic consequences. In a devastating drone strike on Saturday morning, nine civilians were killed when a Russian drone hit a bus traveling through the town of Bilopillia, in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.
Local authorities reported that the attack occurred at 6:17am local time, targeting a passenger bus en route to the regional capital, Sumy, not far from the Russian border. Four more people were injured in what officials are calling a blatant assault on non-combatants.
“This was not a battlefield engagement it was a deliberate hit on civilians,” said Oleh Hryhorov, head of the Sumy regional administration. He confirmed that the drone used was a Russian Lancet, a weapon known for precision targeting. “It was inhumane,” he added.
Ukraine’s national police went further, labelling the incident a “cynical war crime” and accusing Russia of once again violating international humanitarian law. “The Russian army has once again struck a civilian object, disregarding all norms of international law and humanity,” read a statement from the police.
Moscow has not acknowledged the specific incident but issued a general statement claiming its forces had struck a “military staging area” in the Sumy region an assertion Kyiv officials vehemently reject.
The attack underscores the fragility of diplomatic efforts. Friday’s meeting in Turkey marked the first face-to-face dialogue between Russian and Ukrainian representatives since 2022. While no substantive breakthrough was achieved, the two sides did agree on a reciprocal release of 1,000 prisoners of war each offering a sliver of hope amid a grinding conflict.
Yet, incidents like the Bilopillia strike show how far peace remains. The Sumy region has been a focal point of military action, especially after Ukraine used it as a base for counter-offensives into Russia’s Kursk region last August. Although Russian forces have since repelled most of those incursions, they have intensified air and artillery strikes across the border.
More than two years after the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, the war continues to inflict deep wounds both on the battlefield and among civilians just trying to survive the crossfire.
