In a tragic escalation of violence, Russia killed at least nine individuals during a series of attacks on numerous Ukrainian cities and towns. These assaults occurred mere hours before a pivotal summit at the White House, featuring President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alongside European leaders. The onslaught involved Russian drones and missiles targeting civilian infrastructure, including apartment buildings across cities such as Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Odesa.
Local officials reported that the attacks intensified late Sunday and continued into early Monday. In Kharkiv, five people tragically lost their lives, including two children, while at least 17 others sustained injuries, as shared by the region’s governor on Telegram. The Ukrainian state emergency service released harrowing images and footage of the devastation in Kharkiv, showcasing an apartment building engulfed in flames and emergency personnel navigating through the debris to assist the wounded.
In Donetsk, at least three individuals were reported dead due to Russian strikes, according to the region’s governor. While significant portions of the territory near the Russian border remain under Moscow’s occupation, Ukraine continues to maintain vital defensive positions in the area. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that Ukraine cede full control of this region as part of a proposed peace agreement.
The situation in Zaporizhzhia was equally dire, with local authorities confirming that a child was killed and several others injured as a result of a Russian assault. Meanwhile, an overnight bombardment in Odesa targeted an energy facility, igniting a fire that further exacerbated the humanitarian crisis.
These brutal attacks come just two days after Putin's significant meeting with American President Donald Trump in Alaska, where the two leaders discussed potential pathways to end the ongoing war. This meeting marked Putin's first in-person summit with a U.S. president since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. During the summit, Putin expressed that he has always viewed the Ukrainian people as "brothers and sisters," referring to the all-out war he initiated three and a half years ago as a "tragedy" that has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Ukrainians.
On the same day as the attacks, President Zelenskyy was in Washington for discussions with Trump, accompanied by a contingent of European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In a post on Truth Social, Trump urged Zelenskyy to consider a negotiated resolution to the conflict, which included ceding Crimea and ruling out Ukraine's accession to NATO, without directly referencing Putin. “President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump stated.
