Two people were killed and 35 others were injured after a Russian drone attack struck a military hospital and shopping center in Ukraine late Saturday night, Ukrainian officials say.
Regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov condemned the attack on Kharkiv in a statement on Sunday, saying a 67-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman were killed. The attack comes as Russia’s aggression in Ukraine shows no signs of stopping despite efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to speed along peace talks.
Ukraine says that many of the casualties were servicemen undergoing treatment at the military hospital.
Ukraine’s air force says the attack consisted of 111 Russian drones, 65 of which were shot down and another 35 of which were disabled electronically or failed of their own accord.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy predicted late last week that Russian forces would ramp up their attacks in the coming weeks in an effort to bolster their negotiating position for peace talks.
“They’re dragging out the talks and trying to get the U.S. stuck in endless and pointless discussions about fake ‘conditions’ just to buy time and then try to grab more land,” Zelenskyy said in a Thursday visit to Paris.
Saturday night’s attack came after four people died and 24 were injured Friday evening after Russian drones struck Dnipro in the country’s east, according to regional Gov. Serhii Lysak and Ukraine’s emergency service. At least eight more people were injured when a Russian ballistic missile struck nearby Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s hometown, Gov. Lysak reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin himself praised the “strategic initiative” of his forces on Thursday.
“Our troops, our guys are moving forward and liberating one territory after another, one settlement after another, every day,” he said at a public forum.
Zelenskyy has pleaded with Trump’s administration not to give in to Putin’s demands at the negotiating table.
On Thursday, Zelenskyy met with French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of a summit in Paris of some 30 nations about how to strengthen Kyiv’s hand and its military as it pushes for a ceasefire with Russia. Proposals to deploy European troops in the country in tandem with any peace deal are also being discussed.
Fox News’ Michael Dorgan and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
