By DVIDSHUB
A Russian drone targeted an apartment complex in a southeastern city of Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of three individuals and injuring ten others, according to officials on Friday. This incident occurred a day after US President Donald Trump criticized Russia’s leader for a lethal missile and drone assault on Kyiv, as Washington seeks to bring an end to the ongoing conflict that has persisted for over three years. Among the victims of the nighttime drone attack in Pavlohrad, located in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, were a child and a 76-year-old woman, as reported by Serhii Lysak, the head of the regional administration, via Telegram.
The Ukrainian air force indicated that Russian forces launched 103 Shahed and decoy drones targeting five regions overnight. Authorities in the northeastern regions of Sumy and Kharkiv reported damage to civilian infrastructure, although no casualties were reported.
On Thursday, Russia heavily bombarded Kyiv in a prolonged assault, resulting in at least 12 fatalities and 87 injuries, marking the deadliest attack on the Ukrainian capital since July. This assault prompted a rare condemnation from Trump directed at Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has indicated that efforts to resolve the conflict are reaching a critical juncture. Trump expressed his discontent with the Russian strikes on Kyiv, labeling them unnecessary and poorly timed, urging Putin to cease hostilities, noting that 5,000 soldiers are dying each week.
He conveyed his sentiments in a post on his Truth Social platform, emphasizing the need to finalize a peace agreement. Trump’s frustration is mounting as his attempts to broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia have yet to yield significant progress. Senior US officials have cautioned that the administration may soon abandon its efforts to halt the war if an agreement is not reached between the two parties.
Steve Witkoff, an envoy for Trump, was anticipated to meet with Putin in Moscow on Friday, marking their second encounter this month and the fourth since February. Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are scheduled to arrive in Rome on Friday for the funeral of Pope Francis, which will take place in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Saturday. It remains uncertain whether they will have a separate meeting.
On Thursday, Russian forces utilized the attack on Kyiv as a pretext to launch nearly 150 assaults on Ukrainian positions along the approximately 1,000-kilometer front line, as reported by Zelenskyy late Thursday.
He stated on Telegram that while the majority of our forces were concentrated on defending against missiles and drones, the Russians significantly escalated their ground offensives. Western European leaders have accused Putin of stalling negotiations and attempting to seize additional Ukrainian territory while his military maintains battlefield momentum.
Trump has accused Zelenskyy of extending the conflict by refusing to concede the Russia-occupied Crimea Peninsula as part of a potential agreement, an area that Russia unlawfully annexed in 2014. Zelenskyy has consistently asserted during the war that acknowledging occupied territory as Russian is a non-negotiable issue for his nation.
On Thursday, Zelenskyy remarked that Ukraine had accepted a US ceasefire proposal 44 days prior as an initial step towards a negotiated peace, yet Russian assaults have persisted. During recent discussions, Russia targeted the city of Sumy, resulting in the deaths of over 30 civilians who had gathered to observe Palm Sunday, while also attacking Odesa with drones and striking Zaporizhzhia with powerful glide bombs.
