Russian Drone Strike on Evacuation Bus in Ukraine Kills Nine as Ceasefire Talks Stall
- Victor Nwoko
- May 17, 2025
- 3 min read
A Russian drone strike targeted a civilian evacuation bus in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region on Saturday, killing nine people and injuring seven others, Ukrainian officials reported. The deadly attack occurred just hours after the first direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years ended without a ceasefire agreement.
The strike hit the town of Bilopillia, located just 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the Russian border. According to regional governor Oleh Hryhorov and Ukraine’s national police, three of the injured are in serious condition. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack, calling it a “deliberate killing of civilians.” He emphasized that Russian forces “could scarcely not realize what kind of vehicle they were hitting.”
Zelenskyy lamented the lack of progress in the recent peace talks, stating that Ukraine had “long proposed a full and unconditional ceasefire in order to save lives,” but that “Russia only retains the ability to continue killing.”
The bus was evacuating civilians from Bilopillia when it was struck. Most of the victims were elderly women, and authorities are working to confirm their identities. Local community chief Yurii Zarko declared a period of mourning through Monday, calling it “Black Saturday.” The injured were transported to a hospital in Sumy, the regional capital.
Russia’s defense ministry claimed its forces struck a military staging area elsewhere in the Sumy region on Saturday, but did not mention the attack in Bilopillia.
Recent reports from the Institute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based think tank, indicate that Ukrainian forces have made limited advances into Russia’s Kursk region, just north of Bilopillia. The report noted that Ukrainian troops had pushed south of the Russian village of Tyotkino. Moscow recently claimed it had regained control of the region, following Kyiv’s previous incursion that had captured over 100 settlements.
The drone strike cast a shadow over the latest diplomatic efforts. Russian and Ukrainian officials met Friday in Istanbul in their first in-person talks since the early weeks of Moscow’s February 2022 full-scale invasion. While both sides agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war — the largest such swap to date — they failed to reach any consensus on a ceasefire. Ukraine, backed by Western allies, has made a temporary truce a key precondition for further peace talks. Russia, however, has resisted such proposals.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s chief delegate at the talks, said Kyiv had requested a meeting between President Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, while also exchanging detailed ceasefire proposals. Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky confirmed the discussions and noted that Moscow was considering Ukraine’s request for a presidential summit.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Saturday that Putin could be open to direct talks with Zelenskyy — contingent on the successful execution of the prisoner exchange and further “agreements” between the delegations. Peskov added that Russia would present Ukraine with a list of conditions for a ceasefire but did not specify a timeline or the terms.
Zelenskyy held discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, following the Istanbul talks. From a summit of 47 European nations in Tirana, Albania, Zelenskyy reiterated that Russia must face “tough sanctions” if it rejects calls for a ceasefire and continues its attacks on civilians.
President Macron accused Putin of “cynicism” and affirmed that a European “coalition of the willing” remains committed to supporting Ukraine with security guarantees. Macron expressed confidence that former President Trump would back such efforts, saying, “I’m sure that President Trump, concerned about the credibility of the United States of America, will react.”
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