Panic on crowded train - passenger tells BBC of moment of Russian drone strike

A Russian drone strike targeted a passenger train in northeastern Ukraine, killing five people. The train, traveling from Chop to Barvinkove, was attacked after being forced to halt by an initial drone strike. A Ukrainian soldier, identified as Omar, part of the 93rd brigade, instructed passengers to evacuate immediately before a carriage burst into flames. Omar, a drone unit commander, recognized the danger of a stationary target and helped passengers escape to safety. He later returned to the train to search for survivors, finding a woman and baby unharmed. President Zelensky condemned the attack as terrorism.

On January 28, 2026, day 1,434 of the Russia-Ukraine war, multiple regions in Ukraine experienced Russian attacks resulting in casualties. A Russian drone strike on a passenger train in the Kharkiv region killed at least four people, while an attack in the Odesa region killed three and injured 25. Additional fatalities were reported in Kostiantynivka and the Sumy region due to aerial and drone attacks. Russia claimed to have shot down 105 Ukrainian drones and seized Novoyakivlivka and Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, although Ukraine denied the capture of Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi. Amidst freezing winter conditions, an energy crisis continues, leaving 710,000 people without electricity in Kyiv, with the EU providing generators for Kyiv, Kropyvnytskyi, and front-line communities.

A Russian drone strike on a passenger train in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine on Tuesday killed five people. The train was traveling from Chop to Barvinkove, carrying over 150 passengers. Ukrainian prosecutors reported finding fragments of five bodies at the scene, where at least two carriages caught fire. President Zelenskyy condemned the attack as terrorism, stating there was no military purpose and that it undermined peace efforts. In a separate incident, a barrage of over 50 Russian drones in Odesa killed three and wounded over 30, including a pregnant woman.

A Russian drone strike on a passenger train in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine on Tuesday killed at least four people and left another four missing. Ukrainian President Zelensky condemned the attack, calling it "terrorism" as the train was carrying over 200 civilians. The train was traveling from Chop to Barvinkove when it was hit near Yazykove village. Separately, officials in Odesa reported that a Russian drone attack on the port city overnight killed three people and injured 25, damaging residential buildings and civilian infrastructure. Russia has intensified drone and missile strikes on Ukraine's energy and transport infrastructure in recent months, leading to widespread disruptions of essential services.