The country of Ukraine stated that thirteen mine workers died after a Russian drone attack in eastern Ukraine, according to statements of the biggest private energy company in the country, DTEK. On Sunday, the firm reported that a bus carrying miners back home in the Dnipropetrovsk region was struck during an attack, but seven others were injured. Initially, the regional officials noted a low number of deaths before the number was adjusted to higher.
Other areas of the country also reported additional casualties. Ukraine authorities reported the deaths of at least three and injuries of nine other people in separate Russian attacks during the night and during the first part of the day on Sunday. Some of the injured included six individuals who were injured when a drone struck a maternity hospital in Zaporizhzhia, including two women who were in labor when hit by the drone. Local authorities provided images of the damage to hospital rooms, with broken windows and debris on the inside.
In the capital of Dnipro, authorities in the region alleged that a male and a female were killed by another drone strike. The officials in Ukraine described the attacks as part of a larger movement against infrastructure and civilian locations.
Russia has launched a series of attacks on the energy infrastructure of Ukraine since January, cutting off electricity and heating services in an unusually severe winter, with temperatures expected to drop to below minus 20 degrees Celsius in certain places. The Kremlin has already said that its activities are being conducted in accordance with military goals, even though one puts pressure on the logistical and energy capacity of Ukraine.
President Donald Trump of the U.S. last week stated that President Vladimir Putin had agreed to prevent attacks temporarily because of severe weather conditions. The officials of Russia later confirmed that there would be an expiry of any pause on Sunday.
In the meantime, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a second series of three-way negotiations between Russian, Ukrainian, and U.S. delegates would now be launched on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, after having been postponed from the originally scheduled date.