Russian drone strike on Ukrainian rail hub Lozova leaves two dead

LOZOVA, Ukraine (Reuters) -Russia carried out its largest attack on Lozova, a railway hub east of Ukraine, on Tuesday, with dozens of drone strikes that left two people dead and wounded 13 others, including two children, Ukrainian officials said.

Governor Oleh Syniehubov said the attack involved 34 drones and damaged the train station and a nearby rail depot.

It temporarily knocked out power to 80% of the town of around 50,000 in the Kharkiv region, which is connected by rail to strategic cities in Ukraine's east.

"Critical infrastructure, apartment buildings and private homes have been damaged ... Lozova has endured the largest attack since the beginning of the war," Serhiy Zelenskiy, head of the town council, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Rubble and debris littered the station, a stately Soviet-era building which was heavily damaged in the attack.

"For Lozova it was a very unusual situation. Of course there have been strikes before, but nothing as big as what we had this evening," said local resident Oksana Samoilenko, 41.

Some residents with cars had left the town earlier in the morning following the strike, she said.

State railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia said one of its employees was among the two people killed and four others wounded.

Ukraine's air force said it had downed 29 of 46 drones launched by Russia across Ukraine overnight. One ballistic missile and 17 drones struck various locations, it said.

There was no immediate comment from Russia.

Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

(Reporting by Vitalii Hnidyi and Anastasiia Malenko and Dan Peleschuk in Kyiv; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Bernadette Baum)