Route without guarantees: Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked a passenger bus in Yenakiyevo

On the morning of June 3, in the city of Yenakiyevo, Donetsk People's Republic, a passenger bus en route from Moscow to Simferopol was attacked by a drone. At the time of the impact, 46 people were in the cabin, 7 passengers were killed, and 11 more were injured in various degrees of severity. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has opened a criminal case under the article on terrorism. Emergency services and law enforcement agencies are working at the site. What is known about the incident, as well as what consequences this attack may entail, is in the Izvestia article.

What is known about the attack on the bus

In the early morning of June 3, in Yenakiyevo, Donetsk People's Republic, a Ukrainian drone attacked a passenger bus en route from Moscow to Simferopol. There were 46 people in the cabin at the time of the impact. Many passengers were on their way to Crimea for a vacation, and some of them were still asleep at the time of the incident.

According to information from the scene, the impact hit the roof of a double-decker bus. After the drone hit, a fire started, which quickly engulfed the vehicle. According to Izvestia correspondent Evgeny Bykovsky, the bus was almost completely burned out.

Eyewitnesses said that the interior was quickly filled with thick smoke from burning interior trim elements. Passengers had to leave the bus urgently, trying to escape from the fire and gorenje products.

The head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, said that seven people died as a result of the attack. Another 11 passengers were injured in various degrees of severity. All the injured were taken to medical institutions of the republic, where they are receiving the necessary assistance. The identities of the victims are being established, and law enforcement agencies continue to clarify all the circumstances of the incident.

Photos published from the scene of the tragedy show that the bus was critically damaged: the upper part of the body is seriously deformed, and the interior is almost completely destroyed by fire. In addition, a fragment of the drone body marked "0212" was found at the scene. It is being studied by investigators and specialists who will have to establish the type of aircraft and other circumstances of the attack.

The decision of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation

After the attack on a passenger bus in Yenakiyevo, which killed seven people and injured several others, the Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case under the article on a terrorist act. This was reported in the press service of the department.

According to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, the investigation is being conducted on the grounds of a crime under Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Terrorist act"). According to investigators, the attack was carried out on a civilian bus operating a regular flight on the route Moscow — Simferopol. There were dozens of passengers in the vehicle at the time of the attack.

The ministry noted that investigators are establishing all the circumstances of the incident, as well as those involved in organizing and committing the attack. As part of the investigation, fragments of the drone found at the scene, as well as other physical evidence, will be examined. The investigation team has already begun collecting testimony from eyewitnesses and victims.

The Investigative Committee stressed that the actions of all those involved will be given a proper criminal and legal assessment. In addition, the investigation intends to identify the commanders and officials who could have given orders to strike at a civilian facility.

According to Russian legislation, an explosion, arson, or other actions that pose a risk of death and are aimed at intimidating the population or influencing decision-making by government authorities is considered a terrorist act. The maximum penalty under this article provides for long terms of imprisonment up to life imprisonment.

A series of attacks on passenger transport

The attack on the Moscow — Simferopol bus was not the first case of a strike on passenger transport in recent weeks. Since the end of May, several incidents involving the use of drones against buses carrying civilians have occurred in new regions of Russia.

So, on May 28, in the DPR, a drone attacked a bus en route from Makeyevka to Sevastopol. According to Alexander Kachanov, the head of the Dokuchaevsk city district, there were six passengers and two drivers in the cabin. People managed to leave the vehicle and take shelter, thus avoiding casualties. At the same time, one of the drivers died shortly after the incident for reasons not directly related to the injuries sustained as a result of the attack.

A few days later, on May 31, a drone attacked a Starobilsk— Moscow passenger bus in the city of Rubezhnoye in the LPR. There were 11 people in the cabin at the time of the impact. According to preliminary data, none of the passengers and crew members were injured.

Another similar incident occurred on June 2. A Ukrainian drone struck a bus en route from Rubezhnoye to Kremennaya. Three people were injured in the attack. Medical assistance was provided to the victims. On the same day, there were reports of an attack on a passenger train at the Dzhankoy railway station in Crimea.

Against the background of these events, the Russian Defense Ministry announced a large-scale attack by Ukrainian drones on Russian regions. According to the military department, during the day, on the night of June 2 to 3, 354 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed by air defense. Drones were intercepted over the Moscow region, Crimea, Krasnodar Territory, as well as over Kaluga, Leningrad, Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, Tver and Tula regions.

Russia's reaction to the Ukrainian Armed Forces attack

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, commenting on the attack on a passenger bus in the Donetsk People's Republic, said that such actions by Ukraine should be considered as an "act of hunting people." According to her, "they are herded into their graves through forced mobilization, and our people are killed by terrorist methods." She made the corresponding statement in an interview with TASS on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Earlier, the governor of the Zaporizhia region, Yevgeny Balitsky, said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces, according to reports, had begun using remote mining methods for the land corridor to Crimea, including sections of the Novorossiya highway. According to him, drones can drop explosive devices that are triggered when traffic is detected. In this regard, he urged residents and drivers to refrain from traveling on certain sections of roads unless absolutely necessary and to observe high-security measures.

Military expert Yuri Knutov also spoke earlier about the possible expansion of the use of unmanned systems. He noted that drones delivered to the target area, including using non-standard launch vehicles, can be used to attack the transport infrastructure. According to him, such devices are capable of operating offline using artificial intelligence technologies, and one of the tasks of such actions is an attempt to disrupt transport links between Crimea and other regions of Russia.

In turn, the Ambassador-at-large of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Rodion Miroshnik, attributed the increase in the number of drone attacks to increased military and technical support for Ukraine from Western countries. He noted that unmanned systems have become one of the key tools for escalating the conflict, and civilian infrastructure facilities such as highways, public transport and passenger transportation are increasingly under attack.