According to a statement issued on X by the emergency service, a fire broke out following the strike but was promptly extinguished by firefighters.

"A Russian drone attacked a company service bus in the Pavlohrad district! Preliminary reports indicate that 12 people were killed. Seven others were injured and hospitalised. A fire broke out, which was extinguished by firefighters," the emergency service said in its post.

"The number of victims from the Russian attack has increased to 15 people," it added.

The attack targeted a company bus near the DTEK coal facility, following which Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK, described the incident as "an unprovoked terrorist attack on a purely civilian target".

In a statement on X, Timchenko called the attack the "single largest loss of life of DTEK employees since Russia's full-scale invasion" and "one of the darkest days in our history."