At least 20 people have been killed in Russian strikes including 11 in a single town in Ukraine's embattled Donetsk region just days after the U.S. suspended military aid and intelligence, officials said on Saturday.
Multiple strikes on the town of Dobropillya, which is close to the front where Russian troops have been making steady advances, killed at least 11 people and injured 30 more, including five children, late on Friday.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said a Russian drone damaged a Ukrainian fire truck while rescuers fought to extinguish burning buildings after eight apartment blocks were damaged in the strikes.
Another six people were killed in the front-line towns of Pokrovsk, Kostyantynivka, Myrnograd and Ivanopillya, regional Gov. Vadym Filashkin said, while emergency services reported that three others died when a Russian drone hit a civilian workshop in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
Filashkin declared Saturday a day of mourning in the region and warned that more victims could still be found in the rubble.
“Last night, the Russian army fired two ballistic missiles at the center of Dobropillya,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. “After emergency services arrived at the scene, they launched another strike, deliberately targeting rescuers. It is a vile and inhumane intimidation tactic to which the Russians often resort.”
The wave of attacks took place just 24 hours after Russia hit Ukrainian energy facilities with dozens of missiles and drones, hobbling its ability to deliver heat and light to its citizens and to power weapons factories vital to its defences.
The decision to suspend military aid and intelligence to Ukraine to pressure it into accepting a peace deal being pushed by the Trump administration came on the heels of a tempestuous White House visit last week by Zelensky.
Without U.S. satellite imagery, Ukraine’s ability to strike inside Russia and defend itself from bombardment is significantly diminished.
When asked Friday by a reporter during an Oval Office exchange if Russian President Vladimir Putin was taking advantage of the U.S. pause on intelligence-sharing to attack Ukraine, Trump responded: “I think he’s doing what anybody else would.”
Zelensky did not reference the intelligence-sharing deal, but did seem to appeal to other statements Trump made on Friday related to financial sanctions against Moscow. Writing on social media, the U.S. president proposed imposing large-scale banking sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a cease-fire and final peace settlement was reached.
Zelensky welcomed the prospect of additional sanctions on Moscow, saying, "Everything that helps Putin finance the war must be broken.”
Ukraine’s air force reported on Saturday that Russian troops launched three Iskander missiles and 145 drones over the country overnight.
The bombardment contained a mix of attack and decoy drones intended to confuse air defences. One missile and 79 drones were shot down, while 54 more drones were lost without causing damage, the Ukrainian air force said.
Among the targeted areas was Ukraine’s northeastern region of Kharkiv, where three people died after a Russian drone hit a civilian workshop, emergency services said.
Meanwhile, Russian troops shot down 31 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 26 over the country’s Krasnodar region, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday.
Falling debris from one drone sparked a blaze at the KINEF oil refinery in Russia’s northern Leningrad region, local Gov. Aleksandr Drozdenko said. No casualties were reported.
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