Ukraine says another Russian drone attack kills 3 after Trump rebuked Putin
KYIV Ukraine AP A Russian drone struck an apartment building in a southeastern Ukraine city killing three people and injuring others authorities stated Friday a day after U S President Donald Trump rebuked Russia s leader for a deadly missile and drone attack on Kyiv while Washington is endeavoring to stop the more than three-year war A child and a -year-old woman were among the civilians killed in the nighttime drone strike in Pavlohrad in Ukraine s Dnipropetrovsk region the head of the regional administration Serhii Lysak wrote on Telegram Russian forces fired Shahed and decoy drones at five Ukrainian regions overnight Ukraine s air force communicated Leadership in the northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions informed damage to civilian infrastructure but no casualties The war could be approaching a pivotal moment as the Trump administration weighs its options Senior U S leaders have warned that the administration could soon give up attempts to stop the war if the two sides do not come to an agreement That could potentially mean a halt of U S military aid for Ukraine Amid the peace efforts Russia pounded Kyiv in an hourslong barrage Thursday killing at least people and injuring in its deadliest assault on the Ukrainian capital since July The attack drew a rare rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Putin from Trump who has explained that a push to end the war is coming to a head I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV Not necessary and very bad timing Vladimir STOP soldiers a week are dying Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform Lets get the Peace Deal DONE Trump s frustration is growing as his effort to forge a deal between Ukraine and Russia has failed to achieve a breakthrough But Trump noted in an interview with Time magazine published Friday that the U S and Russia have had very good talks and we re getting very close to a deal Trump envoy Steve Witkoff was expected to meet with Putin in Moscow on Friday their second meeting this month and the fourth since February Addressing a key sticking point in the negotiations Trump revealed Crimea will stay with Russia under a U S -brokered settlement according to the interview transcript The interview took place on Tuesday the magazine declared Trump accused Zelenskyy on Wednesday of prolonging the killing field by refusing to surrender the Russia-occupied Crimea Peninsula as part of a viable deal Russia illegally annexed that area in Zelenskyy has repeated a great number of times during the war that recognizing occupied territory as Russian is a red line for his country Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plan to arrive in Rome on Friday for the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican s St Peter s Square on Saturday It wasn t forthwith clear if they would meet separately An explosion in Moscow targets a senior officer Meanwhile a senior Russian military officer was killed by a car bomb near Moscow on Friday Russia s top criminal analysis agency revealed The attack follows the killing of Lt Gen Igor Kirillov on Dec when a bomb hidden on an electric scooter parked outside his apartment building exploded as he left for his office Russian government blamed Ukraine for the killing of Kirillov Since Russia invaded several prominent figures have been killed in targeted attacks supposed to have been carried out by Ukraine Russian forces used Thursday s attack on Kyiv as cover to launch almost assaults on Ukrainian positions along the roughly -kilometer -mile front line Zelenskyy mentioned late Thursday When the maximum of our forces was focused on defense against missiles and drones the Russians went on to significantly intensify their ground attacks he wrote on Telegram Western European leaders have accused Putin of dragging his feet in the negotiations and seeking to grab more Ukrainian land while his army has battlefield momentum Zelenskyy noted Thursday that Ukraine agreed to a U S ceasefire proposal days ago as a first step to a negotiated peace but that Russian attacks continued During contemporary talks Russia hit the city of Sumy killing more than civilians gathered to celebrate Palm Sunday battered Odesa with drones and blasted Zaporizhzhia with powerful glide bombs
