Just hours after Ukraine had announced a new phase of high-stakes peace talks, a burst of Russian drone attacks had hit deep into the heart of civilian life. The deadliest strike occurred in the Dnipro region, where a bus carrying coal miners was attacked, and another struck a maternity hospital in Zaporizhzhia, injuring pregnant women and children, the authorities said.
The Massacre in Dnipro
In the Ternivka district in Dnipro, a bus carrying employees from mines at DTEK, Ukraine’s biggest private energy company, was hit by what officials believe to be a Shahed-type loitering munition. The miners were making their way home from work when the drone struck the vehicle, setting it into a giant fireball.
Casualties: Ukrainian military officials estimated that at least 12 people died. The injured numbers vary between 7 and 16, of whom many are in critical condition.
Official response: Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal declared the action a “cynical and targeted strike on energy sector workers,” while DTEK classified it as a “large-scale act of terrorism.”
Attack on the New Life: Zaporizhzhia Maternity Ward. In another similar but no less traumatic incident, Russian drones struck a maternity hospital in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia. The strike targeted the reception area at the gynecological department, igniting a fire that caused doctors and patients to fear for safety. 6 to 9 people, including pregnant women and a 4-year-old child, were also injured, Governor Ivan Fedorov, who was regional, said in a statement after confirming the injuries.
“Attacking a place where life begins is the ultimate demonstration of inhumanity,” Fedorov said while emergency crews moved mothers and newborns into underground shelters.
Peace Talks Under Fire
The strikes are also coming at a very sensitive diplomatic moment. U.S., Russia and Ukraine representatives have been slated to meet in Abu Dhabi on 4 and 5 February 2026 for trilateral peace talks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently announced. Although U.S. President Donald Trump had previously suggested Russia had agreed to tone down its strikes on key cities, Sunday’s clashes suggest the Kremlin is using a “pressure tactic.”
It continues to insist that Russia must control the Donbas region as a condition to any sort of peace agreement, which Ukraine has repeatedly rejected. Zelenskyy maintains his position on Telegram, saying "Ukraine is ready for substantive talks and is interested in a real and honorable end to the war." But the way Russia continues to target civilians for the continuation puts into question Moscow's sincerity in trying to resolve it peacefully.
