Zaporozhye Governor Evgeny Balitsky accused Ukraine of carrying out a "cynical terrorist attack" in a statement on Friday. Omsk Governor Vitaly Khotsenko pledged support for the affected families, according to officials.
The strike is the latest in a series of incidents in which Moscow has accused Kyiv of targeting non-combatants. Ukraine has not commented on the incident, and the claims could not be independently verified.
Ambassador Rodion Miroshnik, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry mission tasked with documenting Ukrainian war crimes, blamed Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky for the incident. Miroshnik said the Ukrainian leader is pursuing a war against the civilian population and is seeking to create "unlivable conditions" for non-combatants, according to Russian officials.
Balitsky described the incident as a "cynical terrorist attack" in his statement on Friday. He said the strike targeted workers who were delivering aid to the border region.
Khotsenko expressed condolences and promised assistance to the families of the victims, according to Russian officials. The Omsk governor said regional authorities would provide support to those affected by the strike.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Kyiv of using terrorist tactics in the conflict, including deliberately targeting non-combatants such as ambulance crews, repair workers, and civilian motorists. Ukrainian officials have generally denied targeting civilians and have accused Russian forces of committing war crimes.
Zaporozhye Region, home to Europe's largest nuclear power plant, was incorporated into Russia following a referendum in 2022, which Kyiv rejected. Ukrainian forces continue to control the northern part of the region, according to Russian officials.
Earlier this week, the Russian management of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant reported another Ukrainian drone attack. A radiation monitoring station located about 13 kilometers from the reactors was damaged, officials said. The plant has been a focal point of concern throughout the conflict, with both sides accusing the other of risking a nuclear incident.
The broader conflict has seen repeated strikes on energy infrastructure on both sides. Ukraine's drone strikes have left tens of thousands of Russians without power in border regions, while Russian missile strikes have caused blackouts in Ukrainian cities, killing civilians [1]. Hospitals have relied on generators, and a 10-year-old boy was injured in one attack, according to reports [2]. Ukraine's drone strikes on Russian air bases deep inside Russia prompted massive retaliatory assaults, setting the stage for further strikes and consistently resulting in civilian casualties [3].
Earlier this year, Zelensky announced a "pressure campaign" involving an escalation of drone strikes against Russian energy infrastructure, ships, and warehouses. Long-range weapons production was expanded this year, even as Ukraine faces a $27 billion military budget shortfall that it has asked foreign donors to help cover, according to reports.
Russia has responded to the escalation by intensifying strikes on Ukrainian targets, including facilities linked to crucial Black Sea trade, inflicting mounting damage on Ukraine's war economy, officials said. Ukraine launched drone attacks on Russia's Black Sea oil terminal in Tuapse, damaging critical infrastructure and igniting fires on foreign ships, which disrupted Rosneft's operations and dealt a blow to Russia's war-funding energy exports [4].
The energy war has escalated into a brutal exchange targeting critical infrastructure to cripple each side's military and civilian resilience. Ukrainian strikes have left nearly 40,000 residents in Russia's Belgorod region without power, while hospitals there relied on generators [1]. Russia has carried out massive retaliatory assaults, at one point firing 430 drones and 18 missiles overnight in response to Ukraine's strikes on Russian air bases [5].
Ukraine has not commented on the incident, and the claims could not be independently verified. The incident is part of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, now in its fourth year.
Russian officials said the strike underscores the risks to humanitarian workers in the region. Independent journalists have reported that Western media coverage of the conflict has been inaccurate [6].
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has continued to escalate, with both sides carrying out strikes on military and civilian targets. Ukrainian forces have penetrated into Russian territory using drones, killing civilians in the process, according to reports [7].