Local Authorities Say Russian Attacks Killed at Least 41 Across Ukraine in a Day as Kyiv Claims Hits on Omsk and Ukhta Refineries

Since a Russian cruise missile killed 22 people in an apartment block in Pryluky on Wednesday, Oct. 7, the daily toll has kept climbing. As of today, Oct. 9, local authorities say at least 41 people were killed and 67 injured across Ukraine over the past day.

Most of the dead are in Donetsk Oblast. Governor Vadym Filashkin said Russian strikes killed 35 people there on Oct. 8: 32 in Kramatorsk and three in Bilenke. Another 24 were injured.

Kramatorsk buses

Russian forces hit two buses in Kramatorsk on Thursday morning. In a statement, the city council said: "Once again, the Russians have struck a location where there is absolutely no military target. A passenger bus. A civilian vehicle. People simply going about their daily business." Public transport in the city has been suspended.

The count is not fully settled. The city council's first statement put the bus strike at 30 dead and 18 injured. Local authorities later said the death toll from the attack had risen to 33, while Filashkin's governor-level tally lists 32 in the city.

Zelenskyy said the strike "will not go unanswered." He wrote on X: "Russia is trying to destroy all life in Donbas, and a response from the world is a must."

Filashkin said Russia shelled parts of Donetsk Oblast more than 30 times in 24 hours and forced 379 people to evacuate. He urged remaining residents to move to safer parts of the country.

The rest of the country

In Zaporizhzhia, Russian glide bombs destroyed and damaged residential buildings. Ivan Fedorov, co-chair of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast Defense Council, said one person was killed and seven injured, including a child. Across the oblast, Russia launched 1,039 strikes on 51 settlements, killing two and injuring 18.

Elsewhere, officials reported:

• Dnipropetrovsk Oblast: two killed, three injured.
• Sumy Oblast: one killed, 14 injured, including two children.
• Kherson Oblast: four injured, including a child.
• Kharkiv Oblast: three injured across 17 settlements, per Governor Oleh Syniehubov.
• Ivano-Frankivsk: a 67-year-old man killed, per Governor Svitlana Onyshchuk.

Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 136 drones overnight, 93 of them jet-powered Shahed-type drones. It said 114 were shot down or suppressed.

Strikes inside Russia

Belgorod Governor Alexander Shuvaev said four people were killed in Ukrainian attacks over the past day and 12 injured. A married couple died in shelling in the Belgorod district. A man and a woman were killed in drone attacks in the Valuy and Graivoron districts.

In Kaluga, Governor Vladislav Shapsha said nine people were injured in an attack on infrastructure, five of them hospitalized. Yandex said a drone strike damaged infrastructure at one of its data centres in Kaluga, the second consecutive day its data centres were targeted, following an attack on Thursday in Sasovo.

Russia's Defense Ministry said it destroyed a key bridge over the Oskil River near Petrivka on the Kupiansk front. The ministry said the aim was to disrupt supply routes to Ukrainian troops.

Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces hit a "major" refinery in Omsk and a second facility in Ukhta. He said An-196 RS drones, which can fly about 2,500 kilometers, struck Ukhta, and FP-6 drones (modified FP-1s) were used against the Omsk refinery the day before. He shared video footage appearing to show the aftermath.

Washington's position

President Donald Trump has called on Kyiv to stop hitting Russian refineries. He argues the strikes are causing a global shortage that is "hurting the world." Zelenskyy appealed at the United Nations earlier to countries to starve Russia of revenue through sanctions and trade bans.

On Thursday Zelenskyy said a Ukrainian delegation would travel to the United States within two days for talks. He urged Washington to increase pressure on Moscow.

Lyman and the road to Sloviansk

The front is moving in Ukraine's favor in one sector. A Ukrainian counteroffensive, Operation Vivaldi, has reclaimed 175 square kilometers (67 square miles) of previously occupied land around Lyman this year. Zelenskyy told Reuters it has been successful but incomplete.

The most telling account comes from the Russian side. The Kremlin-aligned Telegram channel Rybar wrote on Oct. 7 that Russian forces are losing villages south of Lyman. It said Russian troops are forced "to defend previously occupied positions and expend resources on restoring control, instead of launching their own offensive."

Rybar concluded that "the possibility of storming the urban area [of Sloviansk] is receding into the more distant future." It also blamed the Russian communications strategy of "premature statements." In its words, "Some villages were declared liberated even before Russian units arrived, which allowed the enemy to accumulate forces there and launch counterattacks."

A key battle seems to be building for Kryva Luka, a village east of Sloviansk. It sits on high ground on the Russian-held right bank of the Siversky Donets River and could serve as a base to launch counterattacks further east.