Nine people were killed in a Russian drone attack on a minibus carrying civilians in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region on Saturday, the local military administration said, hours after Kyiv and Moscow held their first direct peace talks since 2022.

The bus, which was attacked near the city of Bilopillya while travelling towards Sumy, was “targeted by the Russians”, the military administration said.

“Unfortunately, as a result of a cynical attack by Russians on a bus with civilians, there are dead,” the administration said, adding later: “Unfortunately, the death toll has risen to nine.

Four people were wounded in the attack, the administration said.

The blast came hours after Russia and Ukraine concluded their first direct talks in almost three years in Istanbul without a significant breakthrough.

The two sides agreed a large-scale prisoner exchange but no ceasefire, saying instead they would commit to trade ideas on a possible truce.

After the talks, Kyiv said it was seeking an “unconditional ceasefire” to pause the conflict, which has destroyed large swathes of Ukraine and displaced millions of people.

But Moscow has consistently rebuffed those calls and the only concrete agreement appeared to be the deal to exchange 1,000 prisoners each.

After the meeting, Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed his calls for sanctions on Moscow if it failed to agree to a ceasefire. “Our position – if the Russians reject a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings, tough sanctions must follow,” the Ukrainian president said on X.

“Pressure on Russia must be maintained until Russia is ready to end the war.”

Ukraine’s top negotiator, defence minister Rustem Umerov, said the “next step” would be a meeting between the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and Zelenskyy.

Both Moscow and Washington have also talked up the need for a meeting on the conflict between Putin and the US president, Donald Trump.