Deliberate strike: New details of Russia's attack on civilian bus near Ukraine's Pavlohrad
Illustrative photo: A remotely operated attack drone hit a service bus (Getty Images)
Russian troops attacked a service bus near Pavlohrad on February 1, being fully aware that it was carrying civilians, and deliberately killed people, according to Ukraine's Defense Minister advisor Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov.
He explained that a group of Shahed attack drones, remotely controlled online via MESH modems by Russian operators, was flying along the road. The pilot of the first drone spotted the bus and chose to strike it.
"The Shahed hit near the bus. The driver, knocked off course by the blast wave, crashed into a fence. Injured passengers began evacuating the vehicle, helping each other," Beskrestnov wrote.
At that moment, the operator of the second Shahed drone deliberately targeted the civilians attempting to escape, killing and wounding many people.
The defense advisor emphasized that the drone operators "100% saw and recognized the target as civilian." They were fully aware they were attacking noncombatants, yet they intentionally carried out the strike, committing a terroristic act.
"This is another clear act of terrorism. This is just beyond words," he concluded.
On February 1, Russian forces carried out another terrorist attack, targeting a service bus carrying miners in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region. The strike resulted in a high number of casualties, with multiple people killed and injured.
On the same day, Russians also attacked a maternity hospital in Zaporizhzhia city. The drone strike injured six people and caused structural damage to the building.
