Russia Strikes Kill Civilians Including Children After Trump-Putin Talks CollapsedAt least seven people, including two children, have been killed in a wave of intense Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials. The attacks struck major cities including Kyiv and Kharkiv, damaging homes, schools, and critical infrastructure. Among the 27 wounded were several children, as a kindergarten in Kharkiv sustained a direct hit. The deadly assault came only hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that his planned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest had been postponed. Trump said he did not want a wasted meeting while tensions remained high. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the renewed bombardment showed that Moscow was still not under enough international pressure to end its ongoing war. The Kremlin dismissed calls for a ceasefire along current front lines, which had been urged by Trump and several European leaders. Russian officials, however, claimed that preparation for a Trump-Putin summit was still underway, contradicting Trump’s statement. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a date had not been finalized and insisted that both presidents remained committed to holding talks once conditions were right.
Russia Strikes Kill Civilians as Trump-Putin Talks Put on Hold
Russia,Meanwhile, President Zelensky arrived in Norway as part of a European diplomatic tour following his meeting with Trump in Washington last week. During that meeting, Zelensky failed to secure long-range Tomahawk missiles from the United States. Speaking to reporters in Oslo, Zelensky called Trump’s proposal to freeze the front line a good compromise, but added he was unsure if Putin would ever agree. He also linked the delay of the Trump-Putin summit to his request for advanced weapons, saying that once Ukraine’s chances of obtaining the missiles decreased, Russia’s interest in diplomacy also faded. During his visit to Sweden, Zelensky and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson signed an agreement that could see Ukraine receive between 100 and 150 Gripen fighter jets over the next decade. The first aircraft could be delivered within three years, according to Kristersson. The latest Russian attacks came after Ukraine claimed responsibility for a missile strike on a chemical plant in Russia’s Bryansk region using UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles. Ukrainian officials said the target produced explosives and rocket fuel components used by Russian forces in their attacks.
The overnight assault marked the first major strike on Kyiv in nearly two weeks. In the capital, a couple in their sixties died when a drone hit their apartment block. In the nearby village of Pohreby, a woman, a six-month-old baby, and a 12-year-old girl were killed when a missile set their home ablaze. A man from a neighboring village later succumbed to his injuries. Witnesses described seeing the drone come like a bird before the explosion engulfed the area in flames. Kharkiv officials confirmed that a 40-year-old man was killed when a drone struck a kindergarten, injuring several children. Across the country, the attacks targeted power facilities, leading to emergency blackouts. Once again, Russia strikes kill civilians, intensifying global outrage and underscoring the ongoing human cost of the war.
