Strike on Ukrainian public buses leaves 30 dead as blackouts worsen in Kyiv

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian guided bomb exploded next to public buses filled with passengers in eastern Ukraine, authorities said Thursday, killing 30 people as part of a wave of attacks that also worsened power outages in the capital.The morning attack occurred next to a bus stop in the war-torn city of Kramatorsk in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, prompting public transport to be suspended in the area.“There is no doubt that Russia is cynically targeting civilians,” Oleksandr Honcharenko, head of the city's military administration, said, adding that the rescue effort had been hampered by subsequent Russian attacks using small drones.Russia and Ukraine are locked in a long-range aerial war while their armies remain largely deadlocked on the front line, more than 4 1/2 years since Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Russia has escalated its aerial attack in recent weeks, putting pressure on Ukraine as it prepares for winter and hitting the infrastructure keeping its war-battered economy afloat. Recent targets have included energy systems, key industries, railways, post offices, shopping centers, telecom networks, gas stations and grain exports.Thursday's attack followed a Russian missile strike a day earlier that killed 22, including five children, in the northern Ukrainian town of Pryluky.

Rescuers were searching the rubble of a residential building. Several survivors slept in heavily damaged apartments because they couldn't find anywhere else to stay.Ukraine appeals for more defense support from NATOUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Pryluky on Thursday with visiting British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.Zelenskyy warned that Russia will likely escalate daily missile and drone attacks as winter approaches. He appealed for additional defense support from NATO countries.“It is important that support in words takes concrete form in new packages for Ukraine’s defense,” he wrote in an online post.

“Supplies of anti-ballistic capabilities, ammunition for our combat aircraft and investments in interceptors — all of this is directly helping save lives every day.”Ukraine's energy company DTEK said national grid operator Ukrenergo had ordered emergency power outages in Kyiv. Regular, rolling outages that occur on a schedule across the country will be halted during these shutdowns.Officials are urging families to prepare emer… Rescuers were searching the rubble of a residential building hit by a Russian missile.

At least 54 people were wounded.Heavy debris was removed from the cratered section of the building, while rescue dogs searched nearby for residents who have not yet been accounted for.Several survivors slept in heavily damaged apartments because they couldn't find anywhere else to stay.Ukraine appeals for more defense support from NATOUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Pryluky on Thursday with the visiting British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.Zelenskyy warned that Russia will likely escalate daily missile and drone attacks as winter approaches.