At least 17 dead, 175 injured in Russian missile attack on Dnipro, children among victims
The death toll from today’s Russian missile strike on Dnipro has risen to at least 17 killed and more than 200 injured, Ukrainian officials confirmed this evening. What began as a mid-morning emergency now stands as one of the deadliest single attacks on the city in recent months.
Initial reports earlier in the day focused on a Russian missile striking a passenger train as it moved through the Dnipropetrovsk region. That strike alone wounded multiple people, though no fatalities were immediately reported. But as the full scope of the assault becomes clearer, it’s evident that the attack was broad, calculated, and devastating.
One of the most harrowing images to emerge from the strike shows a children’s coloring book lying on a train platform, abandoned mid-journey as families fled in terror. The train, operated by Ukrzaliznytsia and traveling between Zaporizhzhia and Odesa, was hit as it passed through the region. All passengers were eventually evacuated, and a replacement train was dispatched to complete the route.
According to local authorities, the missile barrage caused widespread destruction: 14 educational institutions, including kindergartens and schools, were damaged, as were two hospitals, a city clinic, a gymnasium, and a residential dormitory. Many of the casualties occurred not at the train site, but in civilian areas—on streets, in apartments, and at workplaces—struck without warning.
Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov described the scene as “a civilian massacre,” emphasizing that no military facilities were targeted. “This was a direct attack on our people. On children. On the sick. On the elderly,” he said.
Emergency responders spent the day battling fires, rescuing trapped residents, and treating injuries across multiple districts of the city. Many of the wounded remain in critical condition. Hospitals, already under strain from previous attacks, are operating at maximum capacity.
Dnipro’s regional governor, Serhii Lysak, confirmed that fires broke out in at least five locations, requiring extensive firefighting and search-and-rescue operations. He warned that the number of casualties may still rise as recovery teams continue their work overnight.
The attack comes amid a growing wave of Russian missile and drone strikes against Ukrainian cities, many of which have deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure. In recent weeks, similar attacks on Odesa, Kyiv, and Kharkiv have prompted renewed international condemnation and calls for increased air-defense systems.
President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a statement calling on Ukraine’s allies to accelerate the delivery of air-defense equipment. “We know how to stop this terror,” he said. “We just need the tools to do it.”
As Dnipro residents begin another night under curfew and the sound of air raid sirens, the city faces the grim task of burying its dead and rebuilding what was destroyed—yet again. The message from local officials is clear: this was not an accident. This was terror, by design.
