Russia Targets Buses, Schools, and Offices in a Busy Ukrainian City

The city of Zaporizhzhia in eastern Ukraine is under heavy attack from Russia. Drones and bombs have been hitting buses, schools, gas stations, government offices, and homes in recent weeks. The city is home to about 750,000 people and sits only 24 kilometers — about 15 miles — from the front line. For the people living there, the danger feels closer than ever.

One resident, Anna Holovchenko, was woken up at five in the morning by glide bombs hitting the edge of her city. An hour later, a second wave of drones flew over her house, and Ukrainian air defenses tried to shoot them down. Knowing she could not sleep, Anna got up and prepared for work. Later that day, a Shahed drone crashed near her office with a loud bang, and another knocked out the internet by hitting a cable.

Acting mayor Regina Kharchenko told the BBC that during one heavy attack, she took cover in her bathroom when the noise became too loud. She later told city council members that Russia had stepped up attacks against civilians, buses, cars, buildings, and even children. The city council held its meeting inside an underground shelter because of the ongoing danger. City leaders say they plan to build more shelters and put up anti-drone nets in busy and high-risk areas.

Experts say the attacks are getting worse partly because of new drone technology. Small but deadly first-person-view, or FPV, drones were not able to reach the city before, but that has changed. Russian forces now use larger drones to carry smaller ones closer to targets and then release them. They are also using mesh networking, which makes it harder for Ukraine to block drone signals and lets drones pass signals to each other over longer distances.

Despite the danger, many residents like Anna are choosing to stay. She says she has food and fuel and is not ready to leave. She does not want Zaporizhzhia to become another city destroyed by war. 'We're just trying to stay safe and we're doing all we can to survive until our victory,' she said.