Ukraine – Russian strikes on a bus and a maternity hospital (2 February 2026)

France strongly condemns the increasing number of Russian attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine. Following a strike on a passenger train in Kharkiv that killed five people on 27 January, Russia struck a bus carrying employees of a mine in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on Sunday 1 February, killing 16 people, and a maternity hospital in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. No military aim can justify such atrocities, which constitute further deliberate breaches by Russia of its obligation to respect international humanitarian law. The repeated attacks on the railway network demonstrate Russia’s desire to destroy civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, and are part of the same terror approach as the strikes on Ukraine’s power grid.

These cynical strikes on civilians constitute war crimes. They are a brutal reminder that Russia has embarked on an approach geared to escalation, and their increasing frequency highlights the deliberate nature of Russia’s targeting. Following the discussions in Abu Dhabi, they demonstrate that the announcement of a pause in strikes on energy infrastructure in Kyiv is merely another delaying tactic by Moscow aimed once again at rejecting a comprehensive ceasefire and negotiations in good faith.

France expresses its wholehearted solidarity with the Ukrainian people, the victims’ families and the emergency services mobilized. It will continue its efforts, alongside all its partners, to promote a just, lasting peace and reaffirms its determination to support Ukraine over the long term.