Deadly strikes across Ukraine
A Russian drone powered by a jet engine hit two passenger trains that were standing at a station in Dnipro on Thursday, officials said. At least 14 people were killed and 14 others were hurt. One of the injured, a 40-year-old man, had both legs amputated.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian authorities said a Russian cruise missile killed two 15-year-old girls in Chernihiv, in the north. In Kremenchuk, in central Ukraine, a drone struck an apartment building and three civilians died. Across the country, 56 people were wounded in the attacks, 10 of them children, according to the report from CBS News.
Ukraine also hit back. Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 1,214 Ukrainian drones overnight, which it described as one of Kyiv's largest drone barrages. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said about half of them were headed for the Russian capital.
A rare pause around Oleshky
Despite the violence elsewhere, a localized ceasefire has held since Tuesday in and around Oleshky, a ruined city in southern Ukraine under Russian occupation. The truce is planned to last six days and is meant to let food and medical supplies reach some 2,000 people described as desperate and trapped there. The White House said first lady Melania Trump helped broker the arrangement, and both Moscow and Kyiv have thanked her. Pope Leo XIV had also called for a truce.
Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said Thursday that "the parties are fully adhering to the agreements, and no violations of the ceasefire have been reported." He said aid deliveries were due to start the following day. His Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova, agreed the truce was holding. "Both sides are fully honoring their commitments, and no violations have been recorded," she said, adding that the calm lets soldiers keep clearing mines from roads and prepare safe passage for the aid convoy.
Lantratova said she and her team were traveling to Oleshky for the delivery, an operation she said had taken five months to arrange. Belarusian state media reported that Russian and Ukrainian representatives met in Homel, Belarus, on Thursday to fly together to the Kherson region.
Evacuation questions and relief in Kherson
Officials said residents of Oleshky will be allowed to leave for either Russia or Ukraine, depending on their wishes. How that would work in practice was not clear. Volunteer Ksenia Arkhipova told The Associated Press that about 1,000 residents had told her they wanted to leave. She said the presence of a Ukrainian delegation matters because many people fear Russian authorities could single out those with pro-Ukrainian views or links to Ukraine's military.
In Kherson, which Ukraine holds and which has also suffered heavily in the war, more people were out in public as the quiet continued. Nataliia Myronenko, 42, who runs a coffee kiosk, said she had a steady flow of customers at lunchtime and in the evening, which she said she did not see when attacks were frequent. "It's a breath of freedom, when you don't look at the sky," she said. She added that residents understand the calm will end soon.
Earlier attempts at ceasefires either never materialized or fell apart quickly, CBS News noted, and the broader war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion more than 4½ years ago, continues.
The diplomatic backdrop
According to CBS News, both Moscow and Kyiv are eager to win favor in Washington before possible three-way talks next month. U.S. military support is vital to Ukraine, but President Trump has waived sanctions on Russia and publicly criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a sign he may be pulling back from Kyiv. Russian diesel tankers are heading to the United States, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected at a G20 ministerial meeting in Atlanta starting Friday, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
European leaders, by contrast, are trying to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin diplomatically over the invasion and what they describe as a sabotage campaign across Europe.
Ukraine also reported earlier this month that it faced sudden limits on Starshield, the military version of SpaceX's Starlink service, which underpins its drone operations and communications. Putin said Russia has been in contact with Elon Musk to coordinate activity in orbit, since Russia is building its own comparable system. "Elon Musk is a genius. Truly, a real genius," Putin said late Wednesday.
