The Ukrainian capital Kyiv noticed an official day of mourning Friday, a day after a Russian drone and missile assault on the town killed 31 individuals, together with 5 youngsters, and injured greater than 150, officers mentioned.
The youngest sufferer in Thursday’s strikes was 2 years outdated, and 16 of the injured had been youngsters, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned.
It was the best variety of youngsters killed and injured in a single assault on Kyiv since aerial assaults on the town started in October 2022, in line with official casualty figures reported by The Related Press. It was additionally the deadliest assault on the town since July final yr, when 33 had been killed.
The loss of life toll rose in a single day as emergency crews continued to dig via rubble. The Russian barrage demolished a big a part of a nine-story residential constructing within the metropolis, whereas greater than 100 different buildings had been broken, together with houses, colleges, kindergartens, medical amenities and universities, officers mentioned.
Russia has escalated its assaults on Ukrainian cities in current months, ignoring calls from Western leaders together with U.S. President Donald Trump to cease putting civilian areas after greater than three years of conflict. The Russian tactic goals to unfold terror and put on down public urge for food for the conflict.
Russian forces are additionally urgent on with their grinding conflict of attrition alongside the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) entrance line, the place incremental features over the previous yr have come at the price of hundreds of troopers on each side.
Ukraine needs extra sanctions on Russia
Zelenskyy mentioned that in July, Russia launched over 5,100 glide bombs, greater than 3,800 Shahed drones, and almost 260 missiles of assorted varieties, 128 of them ballistic, in opposition to Ukraine.
He repeated his attraction for international locations to impose heavier financial sanctions on Russia to discourage the Kremlin, as U.S.-led peace efforts have failed to realize traction.
Get breaking Nationwide information
For information impacting Canada and all over the world, join breaking information alerts delivered on to you once they occur.
“Irrespective of how a lot the Kremlin denies (sanctions’) effectiveness, they’re working and have to be stronger,” Zelenskyy mentioned.
His feedback Friday gave the impression to be a response to Trump’s remarks the day before today, when the Republican president mentioned the U.S. plans to impose sanctions on Russia however added, “I don’t know that sanctions hassle him,” in reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In April, Trump urged the Russian chief to “STOP!” after an aerial assault on Kyiv killed 12 in what was the deadliest assault on the town since July 2024. “Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!” Trump mentioned in a put up on his Reality Social platform on the time, however Russia hasn’t eased up on its barrages. Earlier this week, Trump gave Putin till Aug. 8 to cease the combating.
These calls for haven’t persuaded the Kremlin to vary technique. Putin mentioned Friday the situations that Moscow set out final yr for a long-term ceasefire settlement nonetheless stand. Putin has beforehand made it clear that he’ll solely settle for a settlement on his phrases and can hold combating till they’re met.
“Any disappointments come up from extreme expectations,” Putin mentioned of negotiations. He didn’t point out Trump by title.
Putin mentioned that he regards current direct talks in Istanbul between delegations from Russia and Ukraine as helpful, although they made no progress past exchanges of prisoners of conflict, and made no reference to subsequent week’s deadline imposed by Trump.
In what Ukrainians may even see as an ominous word, Putin mentioned that Russia has began manufacturing of its latest hypersonic missiles. The Oreshnik’s a number of warheads that plunge to a goal at speeds as much as Mach 10 and can’t be stopped by air defenses, he mentioned.
Ukraine known as for an pressing U.N. Safety Council assembly to be convened Friday, Overseas Minister Andrii Sybiha mentioned, in an effort to push Putin into accepting “a full, instant and unconditional ceasefire.”
Russian forces bear down on a key japanese Ukrainian metropolis
In the meantime, Ukrainian forces are underneath heavy stress within the strategic hilltop metropolis of Chasiv Yar, within the japanese Donetsk area the place Russia is making a concerted push to interrupt via defenses after some 18 months of combating.
Zelenskyy mentioned that Russian claims of capturing Chasiv Yar on Thursday had been “disinformation.”
“Ukrainian models are holding our positions,” Zelenskyy mentioned in his day by day video handle on Thursday night. “It isn’t straightforward, however it’s the protection of Ukrainians’ very proper to life.”
Even so, the Institute for the Examine of Warfare mentioned that Ukraine’s maintain on the important thing metropolis is weakening.
“Russian forces will seemingly full the seizure of Chasiv Yar within the coming days, which is able to open a number of attainable avenues for Russian forces to assault Ukraine’s fortress belt — a sequence of fortified cities that kind the spine of Ukraine’s defensive positions” within the Donetsk area, the Washington-based suppose tank mentioned.
Ukraine has tried to stress the Russian military by putting rear areas with long-range drones that focus on rail networks, oil depots and arsenals.
Russia’s Protection Ministry mentioned Friday that air defenses shot down 60 Ukrainian drones in a single day. Greater than half had been destroyed over Russia’s Belgorod area on the nation’s border with Ukraine, it mentioned. Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov mentioned that one individual was injured.
The Ukrainian air power, in the meantime, mentioned Friday it downed 44 out of 72 Russian drones fired in a single day. There have been no instant experiences of casualties or injury.
Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, contributed.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
