KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian ballistic missile strike Friday on a central Ukrainian city killed at least 14 people, including six children, Ukrainian officials said, as U.S. and European leaders pressed Russia to accept a ceasefire in the conflict.
At least 50 people were wounded in the strike on Kryvyi Rih — the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — in what the region’s leader Serhii Lysak described as an “assault against civilians.â€
“The missile struck an area right next to residential buildings — hitting a playground and ordinary streets,†Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.
Local authorities said the strike damaged about 20 apartment buildings, more than 30 vehicles, an educational building and a restaurant. They said emergency responders were at the scene and psychologists were helping survivors.
Zelenskyy blamed the daily strikes on Russia’s unwillingness to end the war: “Every missile, every drone strike proves Russia wants only war.†He urged Ukraine’s allies to increase pressure on Moscow and bolster Ukraine’s air defenses.
“The United States, Europe, and the rest of the world have enough power to make Russia abandon terror and war,†he said.
Russia resists calls for an immediate ceasefire
Russia has effectively rejected for a full and immediate 30-day halt in the fighting, and the U.K. and French foreign ministers on Friday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in ceasefire talks to halt Russia’s .
“Our judgment is that Putin continues to obfuscate, continues to drag his feet,†U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy told reporters at NATO headquarters, standing alongside French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot in a symbolic show of unity.
U.S. 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,†Rubio told reporters. “Now we’ve reached the stage where we need to make progress.â€
A Kremlin envoy who visited Washington this week for talks with Trump administration officials said 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.â€
He criticized what he called a “well-coordinated media campaign and attempts by various politicians to spoil Russia-U.S. relations, distort what Russia says, and cast Russia and its leaders in a negative way.â€
Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, was sanctioned by the Biden administration after Moscow launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The U.S. had to temporarily lift the restrictions to allow him to travel to Washington this week.
Kharkiv is struck by drones
The missile strike on Kryvyi Rih followed a drone attack late Thursday on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, that killed five civilians. 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.
Civilian areas in three other Ukrainian regions were also hit in Russian attacks overnight, officials said. The Ukrainian air force said that Russia fired 78 strike and decoy drones.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that its air defenses destroyed 107 Ukrainian drones.
‘Russia has been flip-flopping’
Barrot said that Ukraine had accepted ceasefire terms three weeks ago, and that Russia now "owes an answer to the United States.â€
U.S. President Donald Trump has with Putin and Zelenskyy, after he promised last year to bring the war to a swift conclusion.
“Russia has been flip-flopping, continuing its strikes on energy infrastructure, continuing its war crimes,†Barrot said. “It has to be a quick answer.â€
He said that Russia shows no intention of halting its military campaign, noting that Putin on Monday ordered a call-up intended to draft 160,000 conscripts for a one-year tour of compulsory military service.
The two foreign ministers pledged to continue helping to build up Ukraine’s armed forces — the country’s best security guarantee since the U.S. took any prospect of NATO membership off the table.
Moscow’s measured approach to the ceasefire negotiations hasn't surprised Western observers, because its army has momentum on the battlefield.
That momentum allows Russia “some strategic patience,†according to U.S. intelligence community annual threat assessment, published last month. It said Russia had seized the “upper hand," giving it “greater leverage†in negotiations to end the war.
‘Coalition of the willing’ needs more time
Zelenskyy said Friday that Ukraine and its allies need “one more month — no more†to complete the infrastructure needed for a so-called “coalition of the willing,†a multinational force that could secure a truce against further Russian aggression.
The U.K. and France have been leading efforts to build the coalition over the past two months. A senior Ukrainian official said earlier this week that between 10 and 12 countries have said they are ready to join.
“We are discussing a presence on land, in the air, and at sea,†Zelenskyy said at a news conference in Kyiv on Friday following an organizational meeting for the coalition. Defense ministers from the group will meet at NATO headquarters next Thursday.
Russia rebuilds its military
Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the top U.S. general in Europe, said at a hearing before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington on Thursday that Russia is rebuilding its military strength.
Russian forces on the front line in Ukraine now number more than 600,000 troops, he said. That is the highest number in the war and almost double the size of the initial invasion force, he said, and Russia is on track to replace all the tanks, armored vehicles, artillery and air defense systems it has lost so far.
In addition, Cavoli said, Russia is set to produce 250,000 artillery shells a month, allowing it to build a stockpile three times bigger than those of the U.S. and Europe combined.
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Lorne Cook contributed from Brussels.
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