At least 33 people were killed and 18 wounded on Thursday morning, October 8, 2026, when a Russian bomb struck a street in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk where two city buses were operating — the deadliest single attack in Ukraine this year, according to AFP and CNN. The toll climbed sharply through the day: Reuters' morning account had reported at least 12 dead and 14 wounded, and the revised figures now make the strike one of the largest single attacks of the war's 2026 phase. Local authorities described the strike as a deliberate attack on civilians; Russia had no immediate comment on it.

What happened in Kramatorsk?

The bomb hit a street where police said two city buses were operating, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described the target as a bus stop. The blast set the buses on fire; images posted by police showed a charred bus shell and debris scattered across the street. Ukraine's State Emergency Service said rescue workers were at the scene helping survivors and extinguishing the blaze.

Donetsk regional governor Vadym Filashkin, writing on Telegram, said a bus with passengers was "an attractive target" for Russia "precisely because one strike can kill as many people as possible," and wrote that the victims were "people killed by the Russian army." The Kramatorsk city council called the strike a "horrific crime committed by the Russian army against the civilian population" and said the location had "absolutely no military targets."

How did the casualty figures evolve?

Reuters' first account of the strike reported at least 12 killed and 14 wounded. Later reporting by AFP and CNN put the toll at at least 33 killed and 18 wounded. CNN noted that a mass Russian missile attack on Kyiv in July also killed 33 people across the city in a coordinated barrage — but Thursday's attack is the highest death toll this year from a single strike.

The figures come from Ukrainian authorities and have not been independently verified; casualty counts in the first hours of such attacks commonly change as rescue work continues. Russia denies targeting civilians but had issued no statement about this strike in the reporting reviewed for this article.

What did the authorities do after the strike?

Filashkin ordered public transportation suspended in Kramatorsk and in nearby Sloviansk, another fortified city in the region, saying authorities had "no right to risk" citizens' lives, and urged residents who remain in the Donetsk region to evacuate to safer parts of Ukraine. The Times reported that Russian forces shelled settlements across the region 31 times in 24 hours and that more than 250 people, including 32 children, were evacuated from affected areas.

Why does Kramatorsk matter strategically?

Kramatorsk and Sloviansk anchor Ukraine's "fortress belt" in the Donetsk region — the backbone of its defences in the east, according to local officials. Moscow's forces have stepped up drone and guided-bomb strikes on the cities in recent weeks. Russia has demanded that Ukraine cede the rest of the Donetsk region still under its control before it stops fighting, a demand Kyiv refuses. The pace of Russian battlefield gains in the region has significantly slowed this year, AFP noted.

What is the wider pattern this week?

Thursday's attack came a day after a massive Russian air attack across Ukraine that killed dozens and primarily targeted the country's power grid. It also fits an intensifying campaign against civilian infrastructure in Ukrainian cities ahead of winter. Separately on Thursday, AFP reported, citing Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, that three people were killed and 14 wounded in morning drone strikes on the capital; no second independent source had confirmed those Kyiv figures at publication time.

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Attribution notes: the casualty figures (at least 33 killed, 18 wounded) are reported by Ukrainian authorities via AFP, CNN, and The Times — three independent outlets under different ownership in different countries — and are presented as the authorities' account, not as independently verified fact. The earlier morning figures (12 killed, 14 wounded) come from Reuters' first account of the strike. The claim that the site had no military targets is the Kramatorsk city council's and the Donetsk governor's account; Russia denies targeting civilians and has not commented on this strike. The Kyiv drone-strike figures rest on AFP's reporting citing Mayor Vitali Klitschko; no independent confirmation was available at publication time.