At least 13 people were killed and 10 others wounded Thursday when a Russian jet-powered drone struck two trains stopped at a station in central Ukraine, officials said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described it in a post on X as a "horrific attack” that struck passenger trains in Dnipro.

"The Russians attacked the platform where a regular commuter train and a regular passenger train were standing. Unfortunately, as of now, 13 people have been confirmed dead," Zelenskyy said on social media.

"Fair and decisive actions by America and Europe are needed against Russian escalation," he added.

Dnipropetrovsk Regional Gov. Oleksandr Ganzha on Telegram said: "Thirteen people were killed in a Russian attack on Dnipro. At least five more were wounded."

Dnipro mayor Borys Filatov also lamented "a tragedy" in the city, saying on social media that "a drone hit a civilian electric train."

"Many people have been killed. Lots are wounded," he said.

The state Ukrainian Railways operator said a jet-powered Russian drone had hit the Dnipro train station.

"The strike hit one of the platforms, where train No. 866 Dnipro-Zaporizhzhia was at the time," it said on Telegram.

An elevated threat level had been announced, according to the rail company's chief, Oleksandr Pertsovsky.

"But unfortunately there were still a large number of people on the platform," he said on Facebook.

Russia has fired drones on trains across Ukraine since the first days of its 2022 invasion – destroying hundreds of locomotives and killing several railway workers.

In September alone, passengers were evacuated from more than 5,800 Ukrainian train services due to the threat of Russian drone strikes, the national railway operator told AFP.

The country's vast train network is a vital form of transport in the country, where journeys between east and west can take 24 hours.