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Bus driver killed in Russian drone strike in Kharkiv Oblast

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Bus driver killed in Russian drone strike in Kharkiv Oblast
A civilian bus after a Russian drone strike in Kharkiv Oblast on March 13, 2026 (Telegram / Ukraine's National Police)

Russian forces flew a strike drone into a civilian bus in Kharkiv Oblast, killing the driver and injuring four passengers, local authorities and Ukraine's National Police reported on March 13.

The bus was struck with a Lancet drone at 9:15 a.m. local time on a road near the village of Nova Oleksandrivka, head of the Kupyansk District Military Administration, Andriy Kanashevych, reported.

Ukraine's National Police wrote on Telegram that the person killed was the 53-year-old driver. It added that 15 passengers were on the bus at the moment of the attack.

The bus traveled a route connecting the regional capital of Kharkiv with settlements closer to the frontline, with the final destination being 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the active combat zone.

Russian forces have increasingly used drones to target civilians in close proximity to front-line areas.

On March 11, Russian Forces struck a civilian bus in Kherson Oblast, injuring 11 people.

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Yuliia Taradiuk

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Yuliia Taradiuk is a Ukrainian reporter at the Kyiv Independent. She has been working with Lutsk-based misto.media, telling stories of Ukrainian fighters for the "All are gone to the front" project. She has experience as a freelance culture reporter, and a background in urbanism and activism, working for multiple Ukrainian NGOs. Yuliia holds B.A. degree in English language and literature from Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University, she studied in Germany and Lithuania.

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