A Ukrainian strike on a passenger bus in occupied eastern Ukraine killed nine people on Wednesday, Russian-installed authorities in the Moscow-controlled Lugansk region said.
The war in Ukraine crossed the 4.5-year mark this month, with both sides escalating attacks and the UN warning of a rise in civilian deaths.
"As a result of a horrific attack, eight people were killed at the scene," while a 20-year-old woman died of her injuries in hospital, said Leonid Pasechnik, who leads Russia's occupying forces in Lugansk.
Pasechnik said the bus was carrying 15 passengers and was travelling from the town of Lysychansk to Stakhanov, further south.
Pasechnik said the 20-year-old woman had died in intensive care and that her mother -- as well as an 18-year-old woman and three others -- were also wounded.
He called the attack a "war crime."
Russian forces fully control the Lugansk region in eastern Ukraine.
Both sides have hit each other with deadly attacks in frontline towns and far from the front this summer.
US-brokered peace talks to end fighting have stalled and the Kremlin has shown no sign of easing its maximalist demands on seizing the rest of east Ukraine.
