Russian Drone Strike Kills 12 Miners in Eastern Ukraine

A Russian drone strike hit a bus carrying miners near the town of Pavlohrad in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region on Sunday, killing 12 workers and injuring seven others. The miners had just finished their shift at a local mine run by DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, when the attack took place. This happened hours before President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced new peace talks set for February 4 and 5 in Abu Dhabi.

Background

Ukraine has been at war with Russia for nearly four years now. The fighting started in February 2022 when Russian forces entered the country. Since then, both sides have traded strikes, with Russia often targeting energy sites and infrastructure. This winter has been one of the coldest in years, making attacks on power plants and grids even more dangerous for civilians.

Russia agreed last week to pause strikes on energy targets until Sunday, at the request of US President Donald Trump. Moscow said the pause would cover Kyiv and end on February 1. Ukraine promised to do the same. But Sunday's strike on the miners' bus shows that not all attacks have stopped. Zelenskyy said Russian forces hit railway lines and other logistics points that day. He also noted strikes on power grids in two cities near the front lines, though he did not say Russia broke the energy pause outright.

The Dnipropetrovsk region sits in southeastern Ukraine, close to areas where fighting is heavy. Pavlohrad and nearby Ternivka are home to coal mines that supply power plants. DTEK workers keep the lights on across much of the country, even as Russian drones and missiles pound the grid. Over the past months, these attacks have left millions without heat or electricity during freezing nights.

On Saturday, a grid failure cut power to parts of Kyiv and spread to neighboring Moldova. Nearly 3,500 apartment buildings in the capital lost heating. Workers fixed most of it by Sunday afternoon, but 700 buildings still had no heat. Temperatures hovered around minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit, with worse cold coming Monday.

Key Details

The bus was taking miners home after their shift when the drone struck. Ukrainian officials called it a targeted attack on energy workers. First Deputy Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal described it as cynical. DTEK confirmed the victims were civilians not fighting in the war.

Numbers vary slightly in early reports. Ukrainian officials first said 12 dead and several hurt. DTEK later put the death toll at 15 miners, with seven injured. All agree the bus was outside Pavlohrad in Ternivka.

Other Strikes That Day

Elsewhere, a drone hit a house in Dnipro city overnight, killing two people. In Zaporizhzhia, strikes damaged a maternity hospital and a residential area. Nine people were wounded there, including a four-year-old boy. Fires broke out in the hospital's gynecology wing but were put out quickly. Two women and the boy got medical checks.

Zaporizhzhia Governor Ivan Fedorov spoke about the hospital hit.

"The strike on the maternity hospital is yet another proof of a war waged against life."

A local woman, Daria Makarenko, stood near her neighbor's damaged home in Zaporizhzhia. She questioned the attacks while crying.

"We're not hitting energy, but we can destroy people? How can that be? Why are innocent people to blame?"

Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets called the bus strike brutal, noting it was just one of several that day.

Ukraine imported a record amount of electricity on Sunday—over 41 gigawatt hours—to keep the grid stable. Ukrenergo, the grid operator, planned outages across the country to manage demand.

Anatoliy Veresenko, a 65-year-old veteran in Kyiv, was out running in a park despite the cold. He shared his thoughts on the war and talks.

"Talks are talks. We hope for peace, but we still need to fight and secure victory."

What This Means

The miner deaths highlight how energy workers are now in the crosshairs. Mines and power plants have long been targets, but striking a bus of shift workers shows the reach of Russian drones deep into rear areas. DTEK says Russia aimed at its mines that day. This comes as Ukraine's energy system strains under winter demand and past damage.

Peace talks add pressure. The first round in late January brought no deal on territory. Russia wants Ukraine to give up land in the east; Kyiv refuses. Zelenskyy says Ukraine is ready for real talks in Abu Dhabi. But battlefield advances by Russia make it tough for Kyiv. US pressure grows for a deal amid the long war.

Civilians bear the cost. Blackouts, cold homes, and strikes on buses and hospitals leave people scared. The pause on energy hits ends just as colder weather hits. More outages loom, and families huddle for warmth. Workers like the miners keep going, but each attack chips away at morale.

Kyiv pushes imports and repairs to hold on. But the grid's weakness shows years of war damage. Talks may pause some strikes, but Sunday proved fighting goes on. Families mourn the dead miners, whose job was to power homes now flickering in the dark.