Russian Strike on Ukraine Kills 14 People, Including Six Children

At least 14 people, including six children, were killed in a Russian ballistic missile strike on a city in central Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials. The strike occurred as European and American authorities pushed Russia to agree to a war truce.

Serhii Lysak, the chairman of the region, called the attack on Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, an “assault against civilians,” injuring at least 50 people.

“The missile struck an area right next to residential buildings — hitting a playground and ordinary streets,” Mr Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

According to local officials, the attack caused damage to around 30 cars, a restaurant, an educational facility, and roughly 20 apartment structures. They reported that survivors were receiving assistance from psychologists and that emergency personnel were there at the scene.

He called on Ukraine’s partners to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses and put more pressure on Moscow. “Russia can be forced to stop using terror and war by the United States, Europe, and the rest of the world,” he stated.

The missile strike came after a drone attack that killed five citizens in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, late Thursday.

Emergency crews carried black body bags from a burning apartment building as onlookers wept and hugged in the dark.

Some of the 32 wounded, bloodied and in shock, limped out into the street or were carried on stretchers as flames shot from the windows of their homes.

“Now, I think it is obvious who wants peace and who wants war,” Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said at a Nato meeting in Brussels, referring to the Kharkiv strike. “We must get Russia serious about peace. We must pressure Russia into peace.”

Russia has effectively rejected a US proposal for a full and immediate 30-day halt in the fighting, and the UK and French foreign ministers on Friday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in ceasefire talks to halt Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine.

“We judge that Putin continues to obfuscate, continues to drag his feet,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy told reporters at Nato headquarters, standing alongside French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot in a symbolic show of unity.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Russia’s real intentions in the negotiations will become clear within weeks.

“We will know from their answers very soon whether they are serious about proceeding with real peace or whether it’s a delay tactic,” Mr Rubio told reporters. “Now we’ve reached the stage where we need to make progress.”

A Kremlin envoy who visited Washington this week for talks with Trump administration officials said on Friday that further meetings would be needed to resolve outstanding issues.

Kirill Dmitriev told Russian reporters that “the dialogue will take some time, but it’s proceeding positively and constructively”.