At least 14 people have been killed in night attacks against the eastern region of Ukraine, where Russia has intensified its assault in recent days.
Ukraine’s emergency service said on Saturday that the Russian forces had hit the city of Dobropillia in the Eastern Donetsk region on Friday evening, killing 11 people and injuring 30.
Emergency services added that eight five -storey apartments, an administrative building and 30 cars have been damaged.
“We understand that a number of buildings have been affected. And as the rescue teams withdrew people from the rubble, looking for them, other strikes took place, “said Asd Baig in Al Jazeera in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
“Dobropillia is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the front line to the east. It is not far from the highly contested city of Porkovsk, where the fighting held has been held for months now, “he said.
“The Russian forces have tried to take this city and there is information that they have reached the southern outskirts.”
Meanwhile, in the north of the Kharkiv region, at least three people were killed and seven injured after a Russian drone attack on a civilian building in Bogodokhiv, wrote the governor of Kharkiv, Oleh Synehubov, on Telegram.
In Odesa, a drone attack resulted in several fires, which assigned a hangar with agricultural equipment, a service station building, a car store store, solar panels mounted in an open area and an industrial building of four floors.
At the same time, Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad region, said on Saturday that a reservoir of the Kirishi refinery, one of the largest in Russia, had been damaged by the fall of debris after a Ukrainian drone was shot.
The head of the EU foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, quickly condemned the attacks, saying that they show that Putin “has no interest in peace”.
“We have to intensify our military support,” she added.
Building a similar tone, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk criticized the attack on Russia calling him “what happens when someone soothes the barbarians”.
“More bombs, no more assaults, more victims. Another tragic night in Ukraine, ”wrote Tusk on X.
“Accelerate peace”
Night attacks have occurred while Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he was working with the United States to “accelerate peace”, even if the administration of US President Donald Trump reported a major change in Washington support for kyiv.
This pivot included the reduction in rhetorical pressure on kyiv to conclude an agreement with Russia, as well as the aid break and intelligence with the country torn by the war. The criticisms accused Trump of having repeatedly targeted Zelenskyy while taking a clearly more conciliatory tone with a Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
“We will do a lot of work here in Europe, with the United States and Saudi Arabia – we prepare a meeting to accelerate peace and strengthen security foundations,” said Zelenskyy on X Friday evening.
“Today, intense work with President Trump’s team continued at different levels – many calls. The subject is clear – peace as soon as possible, security as reliable as possible. Ukraine is fully attached to a constructive approach. »»
Trump on Friday told journalists that it was “easier” to deal with Russia to ensure the end of the three -year war than Ukraine, but he had declared earlier that he was considering sanctions against Russia because of his attacks.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha spoke to his American counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, before the negotiations provided in Ukraine-US in Saudi Arabia.
During the call, Sybiha wrote on X on Friday that the two officials discussed the next meeting and the means to “advance our bilateral cooperation”.
Zelenskyy is expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Monday to speak to the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian officials are expected to have new discussions with their American counterparts in the country following a tense television dispute between Trump and Zelenskyy at the end of February.
We continue to work with partners who seek peace as we do, focusing on the necessary steps. Next week, there will be a lot of work here in Europe, with the United States and Saudi Arabia – we are preparing a meeting to accelerate peace and strengthen the foundations of security.… pic.twitter.com/rdogphnwul
– Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@zelenskyyua) March 7, 2025
The latest air raids intervene after the leaders of the European Union agreed to stimulate the defenses of the block, shaken by the prospect of American disengagement.
Among the proposals on the table of the EU countries, the United Kingdom and France have devoted efforts to form a so-called “coalition of the will”-a group of countries ready to protect a possible ceasefire in the Russian-Ukraine war.
Several European states have declared that they would be willing to deploy troops in Ukraine as “security guarantee”.
The key details of the “coalition of willingly” were not specified, but the regrouping was mentioned by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at a summit of European leaders in London on March 2 aimed to guarantee “sustainable peace” in Ukraine.
On Saturday, the United Kingdom said that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was planning to join the group.
Starmer “spoke to the Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese this morning,” the British leader’s office said on Saturday.
“He welcomed the Albanian Prime Minister’s commitment to consider contributing to a coalition of the will of Ukraine and awaited impatiently the meeting of defense leaders in Paris on Tuesday.”
