Russia launched another round of deadly airstrikes across Ukraine overnight, despite a public appeal from U.S. President Donald Trump urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt the attacks.
At least eight people were killed in drone and missile strikes across several regions, just one day after Russia carried out its deadliest assault on Ukraine since mid-2024.
In the eastern city of Pavlohrad, a drone strike claimed the lives of three people—including a 76-year-old woman and a child—and left 10 others injured, according to Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak.
In the southern region of Kherson, two people were killed after Russian strikes targeted critical infrastructure and residential buildings, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin confirmed. Two more fatalities were reported in Donetsk, and another person was killed in Kharkiv, in Ukraine’s northeast.
Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, bore the brunt of a massive bombardment on Thursday. Multiple areas were hit, leaving 12 people dead and 87 injured. Emergency services on Friday completed search and rescue operations at a collapsed residential building, which Ukrainian officials say was struck by a North Korean ballistic missile.
The renewed attacks followed a statement from President Trump on Thursday expressing frustration over stalled peace efforts. Posting on Truth Social, he wrote, “Vladimir, STOP!” and later told reporters he believed both Russia and Ukraine “want peace.”
Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected in Moscow on Friday to continue negotiations with the Kremlin. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in an interview with CBS News, confirmed that Moscow is open to a deal but emphasized that “specific points” still need to be resolved.
Tensions between the Trump administration and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have escalated in recent days. Trump accused Zelensky of hindering peace talks after the Ukrainian leader reiterated his refusal to recognize Russia’s control over Crimea—annexed by Moscow in 2014—as doing so would violate Ukraine’s constitution.
Diplomatic sources revealed to CNN that the Trump administration has floated the idea of recognizing Crimea as Russian territory as part of a proposed peace settlement—an alarming shift for many European allies and a reversal of longstanding U.S. policy.
The dispute over Crimea marks the latest in a series of public disagreements between Trump and Zelensky. When pressed by reporters Thursday about what concessions Russia had made, Trump responded: “Stopping the war, stopping taking the whole country. Pretty big concession.”
“We’re putting a lot of pressure on Russia,” he added. “And Russia knows that—or they wouldn’t be talking right now.”
