Russian attack kills 25 amid ceasefire efforts
Russia has continued its attacks on Ukraine despite a ceasefire brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia. At least 25 people were killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine on Friday, local time.
The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said on Saturday that Russian forces carried out missile and drone attacks on the northern city of Dobropilia and an area in the Kharkiv region overnight on Friday. At least 25 people, including six children, were killed and 40 injured in the attacks.
Responding to the deadly attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, “These attacks prove that Russia is not for peace.”
This is the first large-scale missile attack by Russian attack kills 25 amid Russian forces in Ukraine since the United States suspended military aid to Ukraine and stopped providing intelligence to Kiev. Washington took these “punitive” measures after Zelensky’s altercation with US President Donald Trump at the White House last week.
The European Union (EU) condemned Friday’s attack. The 27-nation bloc’s foreign affairs chief, Kaza Kalas, said Putin was showing “no interest in peace” with Russia’s continued missile attacks on Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry said Russian troops had liberated three villages in the Kursk region near the border from Ukrainian forces.
The United States is continuing its efforts to bring Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table. Trump and Zelensky have confirmed a meeting between the two sides in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to reach a ceasefire. Meanwhile, the Saudi Foreign Ministry has confirmed that the meeting will be held in Jeddah under their mediation. Saudi Arabia had previously hosted a meeting in Riyadh in February between US and Russian delegations to end the war.
