A deadly Russian air strike in the town of Dobropillya in Ukraine’s embattled Donetsk region killed at least 11 people and injured 30 late on Friday night, AP reports.
Ukrainian officials said that a wave of heavy aerial attacks continued for the second night following a U.S. decision to stop sharing satellite images with Ukraine. Donetsk Gov. Vadym Filashkin said the number of casualties may be larger.
The air strike hit eight apartment blocks in the town of Dobropillya causing the casualties. The town is close to the front where Russian troops have been making steady advances. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported that a Russian drone damaged a Ukrainian fire truck while rescuers fought to extinguish the burning buildings.
Filashkin declared Saturday a day of mourning in the region and estimated that more victims could still be found in the rubble. “The destroyed houses and burned-out cars are a terrible scar on the body of our city, left by Russian missiles and drones,” the governor said in a statement on Telegram, according to AP.
“But the most terrifying thing is the number of victims. At the moment, we know that 11 people were killed and 30 were wounded, but the search operation is ongoing and these numbers may still increase.”
The Russia-Ukraine war continues more fiercely after the U.S. paused military aid to Kyiv.
“Vile and inhumane” Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at least five children were among the injured. “Last night, the Russian army fired two ballistic missiles at the center of Dobropillya,” he 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.”
According to the AP report, the strike took place just 24 hours after Russia hit Ukrainian energy facilities with dozens of missiles and drones, affecting the delivery of heat and light to its citizens and to power weapons factories vital to its defenses.
The barrage came after the U.S. suspended military aid and intelligence to Ukraine to pressure it into accepting a peace deal being pushed by the Trump administration, the report says.
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.”
At the same time, the U.S. president proposed imposing large-scale banking sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a cease-fire and final peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine was reached.
Zelenskyy welcomed the prospect of additional sanctions on Moscow, saying, “Everything that helps Putin finance the war must be broken.”