Russian Glide Bomb Kills at Least 30 in Strike on Buses in Kramatorsk

A Russian aerial bomb struck two passenger buses in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, at about 10 a.m. on Thursday, 8 October 2026, killing at least 30 people and wounding 18. The Donetsk regional prosecutor’s office and Oblast head Vadym Filashkin reported the figures after rescue work. A second bus also caught fire. Three additional people died in shelling in the nearby village of Bilenke the same day.

Ukrainian officials identified the weapon as likely a UMPB D-30SN guided glide bomb, capable of travelling up to 100 km when released from high altitude and carrying a warhead comparable to a FAB-250. The strike hit an area on Yuvileina Street near a dental clinic and a public transport stop. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the target as an ordinary public transport stop and said the strike would not go without a response. Filashkin ordered the suspension of all public transport in Kramatorsk and neighbouring Sloviansk.

Kramatorsk forms part of the fortified belt Russia has sought to seize in its claim to the entire Donbas. The city has faced repeated glide-bomb attacks in recent months. After this strike, local authorities suspended bus services because of the risk to civilians using them. Images released by the prosecutor’s office and emergency services showed burned bus shells and debris on the street. Some victims were too severely burned for immediate identification.

The attack is one of the higher single-incident civilian tolls reported in eastern Ukraine this year. Ukrainian military intelligence and the air force had issued warnings of guided bombs heading toward the oblast shortly before the strike. The prosecutor’s office opened a war-crimes investigation. For residents of the remaining controlled portions of Donetsk Oblast the practical effect has been the further contraction of public transport and the continued pressure to leave areas still within range of Russian aviation.

The numbers—30 killed on the buses, 18 wounded, three more in Bilenke—come from regional Ukrainian authorities. Independent verification of the precise weapon type and the full list of victims is limited by access and the intensity of ongoing operations. The sequence of events, the suspension of transport, and the official statements form the public record of the morning’s strike.