The incident comes a day after a massive drone and missile barrage by Russia on Ukraine killed at least 23 people.

The bus was hit in the Donetsk region as it travelled from Moscow to Simferopol in Crimea, a Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014.

“In Yenakiyevo, a UAV attacked a Moscow–Simferopol coach; according to preliminary reports, seven civilians were killed,” Denis Pushilin, the head of the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Donetsk region said on Telegram.

“A further 11 people sustained injuries of varying severity, and all are receiving the necessary medical care,” he added.

Russia and Ukraine have traded regular aerial assaults since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, deploying waves of missiles and drones in tit-for-tat strikes.

Ukraine said on Tuesday that Russia had fired 73 missiles and 656 drones in one of the largest attacks of the war, overwhelming parts of its air defence and damaging cities, including Kyiv and Dnipro.

Overnight into Wednesday, Russia said its air defences intercepted 354 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions, including areas bordering Ukraine and annexed Crimea.

The Russian defence ministry said the drones were downed over Belgorod, Kursk and other western regions, as well as near Moscow and over the Sea of Azov.