KYIV: Russian robots hit a military doctor, shopping centre and apartment blocks in Ukraine’s second-largest town of Kharkiv, killing two people and wounding tens, while US President Donald Trump voiced indignation at Russian President Vladimir Putin for comments he made about the president of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s public employees denounced the “deliberate, intended shooting” of the military doctor later Saturday. Among the fatalities were support people who were undergoing care, it said. Regional Gov Oleh Syniehubov said those killed were a 67-year-old gentleman and a 70-year-old person.
Ukraine’s air pressure reported that Russia fired 111 bursting drones and drones in the latest wave of attacks immediately into Sunday. It said 65 of them were intercepted and another 35 were lost, possible having been remotely jammed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that over the previous year “most parts of Ukraine” came under Russian invasion. Writing on X, he said “1, 310 Russian guided flying bombs, over 1, 000 strike drones- typically’ Shaheds ‘- and nine missiles of several types, including nuclear ones” had been launched against Ukraine.
Zelenskyy also repeated his assertion that” Russia is dragging out the war”, echoing comments he made Thursday in Paris that Russia is prolonging ceasefire talks” just to buy time and then try to grab more land”.
Russia’s ministry of defense, meanwhile, said its air defense systems shot down six Ukrainian drones. It also claimed Sunday that its troops had taken control of a village in Ukraine’s partly occupied Donetsk region. The Russian claim could not be independently verified, and Ukraine did not comment.
According to Ukrainian government and military analysts, Russian forces are preparing to launch a fresh military offensive in the coming weeks to maximize pressure on Kyiv and strengthen the Kremlin’s negotiating position in ceasefire talks.
In an early Sunday morning phone interview with NBC News, Trump was referencing comments Putin made Friday about temporarily putting Ukraine under external governance. Trump said he was “angry, pissed off” when Putin” started getting into Zelenskyy’s credibility”.
Putin reaffirmed his claim that Zelenskyy, whose term expired last year, lacks the legitimacy to sign a peace deal. Under Ukraine’s constitution it is illegal for the country to hold national elections while it’s under martial law.
” If a deal isn’t made, and if I think it was Russia’s fault, I’m going to put secondary sanctions on Russia”, Trump told Kristen Welker. ” Anybody buying oil from Russia will not be able to sell their product, any product, not just oil, into the United States”.
Nonetheless, Trump reiterated that he and Putin have a “very good relationship”.
