KYIV: A large-scale Russian drone and missile attack across Ukraine killed at least six people, including a woman and her two young daughters, officials said Wednesday, as U.S.-led efforts to end the war floundered and Ukraine’s president sought more foreign military help.
Repeated waves of missiles and drones throughout the night targeted at least eight Ukrainian cities, as well as a village in the Kyiv region where a strike set fire to a house in which the mother and her 6-month and 12-year-old daughters were staying, regional head Mykola Kalashnyk said.
At least 25 people, including five children, were injured in Kyiv alone, authorities said.
Russian drones also hit a kindergarten in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, during the day Wednesday when children were in the building, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. One person was killed and six were injured but no children were physically harmed, he said.
Even so, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said many of the children were in shock after being rescued from the building by emergency crews.
Russia fired 405 strike and decoy drones and 28 missiles at Ukraine, mainly targeting Kyiv, Ukraine’s air force said.
U.S. President Donald Trump ‘s efforts to end the war that started with Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor more than three years ago have failed to gain traction. Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to budge from his conditions for a settlement after Ukraine offered a ceasefire and direct peace talks.
Trump said Tuesday that his plan for a swift meeting with Putin was on hold because he didn’t want it to be a “waste of time.” European leaders accused Putin of stalling. Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Trump’s proposal to freeze the conflict where it stands on the front line “was a good compromise” — a step that could pave the way for negotiations.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that the planned summit requires careful preparation, suggesting that laying the groundwork could be protracted. “No one wants to waste time: neither President Trump nor President Putin,” he said. “These are the two presidents who are accustomed to working efficiently with high productivity.”
Zelenskyy urged the European Union, the United States and the Group of Seven industrialized nations to heap more pressure on Russia and force it to the negotiating table.
Pressure can be applied on Moscow “only through sanctions, long-range (missile) capabilities, and coordinated diplomacy among all our partners,” he said.
Zelenskyy credited Trump’s remarks that he was considering supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine for Putin’s willingness to meet.
Russia has not made significant progress on the battlefield where a war of attrition has taken a high toll on Russian infantry and Ukraine is short of manpower, military analysts say. Meanwhile, both sides have invested in long-range strike capabilities to hit rear areas.
