A Russian drone attack struck a military hospital and shopping center in Ukraine late Saturday night, killing two people and injuring 35 others, according to Ukrainian officials.
Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov condemned the attack on Kharkiv in a statement on Sunday, claiming that 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 abating, despite efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to accelerate peace negotiations.
According to Ukraine, many of the casualties were servicemen being treated at a military hospital.
According to Ukraine’s air force, the attack involved 111 Russian drones, 65 of which were shot down and another 35 that were disabled electronically or failed on their own.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy predicted late last week that Russian forces would increase their attacks in the coming weeks in an attempt to strengthen 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 during a Thursday visit to Paris.
Saturday night’s attack came after Russian drones struck Dnipro in eastern Ukraine on Friday evening, killing four people and injuring 24, according to regional governor Serhii Lysak and Ukraine’s emergency service. A Russian ballistic missile struck nearby Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s hometown, injuring at least eight more people, according to Governor Lysak.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin praised his forces’ “strategic initiative” on Thursday.
“Our troops, our guys are moving forward and liberating one territory after another, one settlement after another, every day,” he said during a forum for the public.
