At least nine dead in Russian drone attack on civilian minibus in northern Ukraine

At least nine people were killed Saturday in a Russian drone attack on a minibus carrying civilians in the Sumy region of northern Ukraine, the local military administration reported.

"Unfortunately, as a result of a cynical Russian attack on a bus carrying civilians, there are deaths," the administration said in a Telegram message.

"Unfortunately, the death toll has risen to nine," they added later, alongside a photograph of a blue minibus apparently destroyed by the explosion.

In addition, four people were injured in the attack, according to authorities.

The minibus, which was attacked near the town of Bilopillya while heading toward Sumy, was "targeted by the Russians," the military administration said.

The explosion came just hours after Russia and Ukraine held their first direct meeting in nearly three years in Istanbul on Friday , without making significant progress.

Both sides agreed to a massive prisoner exchange, but not a ceasefire, and pledged to continue exchanging proposals for a possible truce.

Following the talks, Kiev expressed its desire for an "unconditional ceasefire" to halt the conflict, which has devastated large parts of Ukraine and displaced millions of people.

However, Moscow has repeatedly rejected these calls, and the only concrete agreement reached appears to be the exchange of 1,000 prisoners for each side.

Ukraine's chief negotiator, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, said the "next step" would be a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart , Volodymyr Zelensky.

Both Moscow and Washington have also stressed the need for a meeting between Putin and US President Donald Trump.