A Russian aerial bomb struck a street in Kramatorsk, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, on Thursday, October 8, killing 33 people and injuring 18, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service. The strike hit two passenger buses and damaged a residential building, reports by DW and Anadolu Agency said, citing accounts from Ukrainian authorities.
The toll rose as officials updated their figures. Anadolu initially reported 12 deaths and 14 injuries, then revised the count to 30 dead and 18 injured. Later on October 8, Interfax-Ukraine reported that the State Emergency Service had raised the death toll to 33, with the injury count unchanged.
Officials allege civilians were targeted
Donetsk regional head Vadym Filashkin accused Russian forces of deliberately attacking civilians. DW quoted Filashkin as saying that buses carrying passengers were an attractive target. That assertion is an allegation by a Ukrainian official; the available reporting does not independently establish the attackers’ intent.
The Donetsk regional prosecutor’s office opened a preliminary investigation into a suspected war crime, DW reported. The investigation was preliminary, and the available source material does not report a finding on whether a crime was committed or who was responsible.
At the time of Anadolu Agency’s report, Russian authorities had not commented on Ukraine’s claims. The reported strike and its location were covered by more than one news organization, while attribution and operational details in the accounts relied principally on statements from Ukrainian officials.
Casualty figures were revised
The changing toll reflects a series of updates on the day of the attack. Anadolu’s first figures were 12 people killed and 14 injured. The agency later reported 30 deaths and 18 injuries, before Interfax-Ukraine cited a further update from the State Emergency Service reporting 33 dead and 18 injured.
On the latest figures in the supplied reporting, 33 people were killed. The earlier figure of 30 remains a documented interim count, but does not reflect the later update available in this research.