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At least 35 people were killed and 24 were injured in Russian strikes on Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on Thursday, according to authorities, as Russia reported four deaths in its Belgorod region.
“On 8 October, the Russians killed 35 residents of Donetsk Oblast: 32 in Kramatorsk and three in Bilenke,” Vadym Filashkin, the regional governor, said in a post on Telegram.
Russian forces struck two buses in Kramatorsk on Thursday morning, authorities previously said, prompting the suspension of public transport in the city as search and rescue operations were carried out.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed that the strike “will not go unanswered.”
“Russia is trying to destroy all life in Donbas, and a response from the world is a must. A forceful response – exactly as the Russians deserve for all the deaths they have brought,” he wrote on X.
According to Filashkin, Russia shelled parts of Donetsk Oblast more than 30 times in the last 24 hours, forcing 379 people to evacuate.
The governor has urged those still in the region to head to safer parts of the country.
Alexander Shuvaev, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, said on Friday that four people had been killed in Ukrainian attacks over the past day.
“In the Belgorod district, a married couple were killed as a result of the shelling. In the Valuy and Graivoron districts, a man and a woman were killed in drone attacks,” he said, adding that 12 people were also injured.
Ukraine strikes two Russian refineries
On Friday, Zelenskyy announced that Ukrainian forces had carried out a strike on a “major” Russian oil refinery in Omsk, as well as striking another facility in Ukhta.
“The target in Ukhta was hit by An-196 RS drones, which can fly about 2,500 kilometers, while FP-6 drones (modified FP-1s) were used against the Omsk refinery the day before,” he said, whilst also sharing video footage appearing to show the aftermath of the strikes.
Ukraine has long embarked on a mission to target Russia’s energy infrastructure, particularly its oil sector, as part of an effort to hinder one of the country’s key economic lifelines.
US President Donald Trump has called on Kyiv to stop hitting Russian refineries, arguing that the strikes were causing a global shortage that is “hurting the world” as he has sought to shift blame from the Iran war.