Russia launched multiple drone and missile strikes on Ukraine as the latest peace attempts by US President Donald Trump appeared to be floundering.
The attack killed at least seven civilians, including children, with more than a dozen injured across the country in the early hours of Wednesday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on social media. Ten regions came under attack, including the capital of Kyiv, Odesa in the south and Dnipro in the east, with energy infrastructure and many residential buildings being hit, according to the president.
“Russian words about diplomacy mean nothing as long as the Russian leadership doesn’t feel critical problems,” Zelensky said. He called for stronger sanctions on Moscow and delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine to bring an end to the war closer.
The strikes came as a planned second summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the war was thrown into jeopardy. The US leader said Tuesday he did not want to have “a wasted meeting” with his Russian counterpart, which had been planned within weeks in Budapest.
Trump said he hadn’t made a determination to scrap the meeting, but reiterated his desire – rejected by the Kremlin – to see current battlefield lines frozen as part of a ceasefire agreement.
Zelensky said on Wednesday he backed Trump’s proposal.