Russian drone attack kills 12 in Dnipro amid Russia-Ukraine peace talks

A Russian drone strike hit a bus carrying mineworkers in Ukraine's Dnipro, killing 12 and injuring 7 amid the ongoing US mediated peace talks.

A Russian drone attack struck a bus of mineworkers in Ukraine's Dnipro, killing 12, emergency officials reported Sunday, just after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed fresh Russia-Ukraine peace talks set for Wednesday and Thursday.

The drone strike wounded seven more people and ignited a fire that firefighters later extinguished, per Ukrainian emergency services.

DTEK, Ukraine's biggest private energy firm and owner of the bus, blamed Russia for "a major terrorist assault on DTEK mines in Dnipropetrovsk region," where Dnipro serves as capital, according to a report by AP.

"A company bus transporting miners from the Dnipropetrovsk region enterprise after their shift was the epicenter of one attack," the company stated in a Telegram post, according to AP.

The strike occurred days after U.S President Donald Trump stated the Kremlin agreed to pause attacks on Kyiv and other cities, as Ukraine endures freezing temperatures, causing widespread blackouts and hardship.

Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal condemned Sunday's Dnipro strike as "a cynical, targeted attack on energy workers," noting it struck near the Ternivska mine east of the city.

Earlier that morning, Ukraine's emergency services reported Russian drones injuring six at a Zaporizhzhia maternity hospital in the south.

The attacks come amid the ongoing peace talks between the two countries. Envoys from Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S. were set to resume talks Sunday in Abu Dhabi to halt Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but Zelenskyy announced a delay to next week.

Earlier this week the US President Donald Trump, during a cabinet meeting, said, "I personally requested President Putin not to launch attacks on Kyiv and various towns for a week, and he agreed to that," noting initial skepticism but ultimate relief for Ukrainians "struggling badly." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the request aimed to "create favorable conditions for negotiations," amid Russia's energy grid assaults.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday challenged Putin to visit Kyiv, stating Ukraine would reciprocate if Russia halts strikes on energy infrastructure, leaving the capital freezing without a formal truce.

While the US-mediated trilateral talks involving Russia, Ukraine, and the US kicked off in Abu Dhabi on January 23-24, 2026, with UAE mediation on territorial issues, security, and political paths, no major breakthrough yet.