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It was the only transport serving a village where more than 1,600 people still live: Russian forces strike a social bus with a drone in Bilenke, killing a woman and injuring other passengers
A Russian FPV drone struck a social bus operated by the Proliska Humanitarian Mission in the frontline village of Bilenke, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, while it was carrying 23 passengers and a driver. The mission’s head, Yevhen Kaplin, reported the attack on Facebook on 29 October. In a comment to Ukrainska Pravda, he later gave slightly different details: 20 passengers and around 14:50.
Earlier that day, Russian attacks on Bilenke killed a 49-year-old man and wounded three other men, acting Zaporizhzhia Oblast head Mykhailo Semikin said. The village of Bilenke is likely to face the most difficult conditions in Zaporizhzhia Oblast this winter, then-head of the oblast Ivan Fedorov said in an interview with Ukrinform on 15 August. Russian forces use the village as a testing ground because the front line runs roughly across the river, he said.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, this marks the 121st attack on the mission’s staff and volunteers while they were providing aid, as well as on its vehicles, offices, and warehouse infrastructure, Kaplin said.
The drone was reportedly lying in wait
The attack killed a female passenger born in 1952. The bus driver sustained serious injuries and was evacuated to a medical facility, Kaplin said. Another passenger, a man born in 1947, sustained multiple shrapnel wounds, while another woman suffered injuries from flying glass. The remaining passengers suffered acoustic barotrauma. Most of the people on board were elderly.
According to preliminary information, this was a drone that was lying in wait, Kaplin said. The attack took place at around 14:30 in the center of the village, on a section of road protected by an anti-drone net.
The bus was clearly marked with the humanitarian mission’s logo on the hood and roof, as well as the words “social bus,” Kaplin said.
National Police special units and military personnel evacuated the wounded, accompanied by aerial cover teams, due to the threat of further drone attacks.
It was the only transport serving the village, Kaplin said
Commercial transport operators no longer serve the village of Bilenke, but more than 1,600 people still live there.
As a result, residents had no way to reach the Oblast center to access essential services, or to buy food and medicine, Kaplin said. They also could not collect their pensions or winter aid payments from the state and humanitarian organizations.
The Proliska team launched the social bus at the request of regional and local authorities.
Russians attack public transport in Zaporizhzhia with drones
Russian drones also hit civilian transport in the Oblast capital several times on 29 October. The city came under a record number of FPV drone attacks that day, Semikin said, adding that Russia had changed its tactics and modified its drones.
- In the morning, a Russian FPV drone struck a municipal bus in the city, Semikin said on 29 October. He first said the strike injured a woman and a man, then said four people were injured.
- Russia launched two strikes on Zaporizhzhia, Semikin reported the same day. Two men, aged 66 and 41, were injured. The strikes damaged 15 vehicles, a warehouse building, a power line, and a nearby apartment block. A fire broke out at the site, he added.
- Later, a Russian drone struck a minibus in central Zaporizhzhia, Semikin reported. According to preliminary information, one person was injured.
- A Russian FPV drone struck a municipal trolleybus in Zaporizhzhia again, Semikin said. He initially reported one woman injured, then said the number rose to three. They included a 56-year-old woman in serious condition and two other women, aged 71 and 66, who sustained minor shrapnel wounds to their legs, he said.
