Friday, April 25, 2025 - 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.”
0 Comments