An overnight Russian drone strike on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv killed three people, including a child, and injured more than a dozen others, Ukrainian authorities said on Monday.
“As of now, three people are confirmed dead, including a young child. Eighteen others were wounded, among them several children,” the Kharkiv regional police wrote in a statement on Telegram.
Authorities warned that more victims may be trapped beneath the rubble of a five-storey apartment building that was struck during the pre-dawn assault.
The drone attack followed an earlier ballistic missile strike on the city, which wounded at least 11 people, according to Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
Elsewhere, Russian strikes also hit Ukraine’s northern Sumy region early Monday, injuring two people. Regional military administration head Oleg Hryhorov said that a bomb followed by a drone strike injured a 57-year-old woman and a 43-year-old driver.
The wave of attacks comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky prepares to meet with European allies and U.S. officials in Washington for high-level talks aimed at ending the war.
In a development that could complicate diplomatic efforts, former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking shortly before Zelensky’s arrival in the U.S. capital, said Ukraine should not expect to reclaim Crimea or gain NATO membership as part of any peace settlement.
Zelensky has repeatedly rejected calls to cede any territory to Russia, which currently occupies about 20% of Ukraine, including Crimea and parts of the eastern Donbas region.
Russia has recently advanced further in eastern Ukraine and is reportedly proposing a deal under which Ukraine would withdraw from the Donbas in exchange for freezing the frontlines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia—southern regions where the main cities remain under Ukrainian control.
AFP
