A drone strike on a civilian bus in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine has left at least eight people dead, sources on the ground confirm. The attack occurred this morning near the city of Melitopol, in the Zaporizhzhia region. Witnesses described a scene of chaos, the bus torn apart by what appeared to be a military-grade unmanned aerial vehicle.
The dead include women and children. The Kremlin, predictably, has denied involvement, instead pointing fingers at Ukrainian forces. But documents leaked to this newsroom tell a different story.
Internal communications from a Russian military unit in the region, obtained from a source with access to intercepted signals, indicate that the strike was carried out by a Russian-operated Lancet drone. The order came from a command post near Berdyansk. The UK Foreign Office was quick to react.
A statement released minutes ago condemned the attack as a 'blatant violation of international humanitarian law'. A spokesperson said: 'Britain stands with the Ukrainian people. Those responsible will be held to account.
' But accountability is a distant dream in a war where the rule of law has been shredded. The Kremlin’s disinformation machine is already churning. State media is framing the attack as a 'tragic mistake' by Ukrainian forces.
My sources tell me that is a lie. The drone was Russian, the target was civilian, and the intent was terror. This is not the first time.
In March, a similar strike hit a hospital in Kherson. No one was prosecuted. The trail of blood leads directly to the Kremlin.
We have mapped the financial flows. The company that produces the Lancet drones is part of the Kalashnikov Concern, which is majority-owned by Rostec, a state-owned corporation under Western sanctions. Rostec’s CEO, Sergei Chemezov, is a close confidant of Vladimir Putin.
The money flows from the Kremlin to the factory to the battlefield. Every drone that hits a bus is paid for by Russian oil and gas revenues. The West has frozen some assets, but the loopholes remain.
The UK’s condemnation is a necessary step, but words do not stop drones. What stops drones is cutting off the supply chain. That requires more than statements.
It requires action. And action, as this newsroom has documented, has been slow. The Foreign Office’s statement does not mention new sanctions.
It does not mention increased military aid. It simply condemns. That is not enough.
