Russian missiles killed 11 people overnight in strikes on Ukraine’s eastern city of Dobropillia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday, saying such attacks “prove that Russia’s goals are unchanged.”
The attacks come as the Ukrainian war is at a critical point, with the United States having halted military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv as part of efforts to pressure it into accepting a peace agreement. The move has left Ukraine even more vulnerable to Russian attacks.
On Friday, after threatening Russia with sanctions to force through a ceasefire, US President Donald Trump said that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was “doing what anybody else would do” in taking advantage of the current battlefield dynamics.
In addition to those killed, the latest strikes injured more than 30 others, Zelensky said, including five children.
Authorities said that more people could be trapped under the rubble, with at least eight residential buildings in the area damaged in the attack.
The Ukrainian president described the strikes as “a vile and inhumane tactic of intimidation that Russians often use.”
“Therefore, it is crucial to continue to do everything to protect lives, strengthen our air defense, and increase sanctions against Russia,” Zelensky said, adding that “everything that helps Putin finance the war must break.”
Zelensky has said he will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia next week ahead of negotiations between Kyiv and Washington. After that, his team will stay in Saudi Arabia “to work with our American partners,” he added.
Local officials said on Saturday that over the past day, Russian attacks had killed at least 23 people and injured more than 50 in eastern and southern Ukraine.
In addition to those killed in Dobropillia, Russian attacks elsewhere in Donetsk killed nine others and wounded 13, according to local authorities.
Ukraine’s emergency service said that a drone attack in the eastern Kharkiv region also killed three people and injured seven, while five people were injured in attacks on the southern Kherson region, according to local officials.
Ukraine’s air force said it had shot down 79 out of 145 drones launched by Russia overnight, while 54 drones did not reach their target.
Russia also used at least three missiles in its attack, the air force said, adding that it shot down at least one of the projectiles.
The attacks came just days after a deadly Russian airstrike on Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Zelensky.