"Vladimir, stop!": Trump calls on Russia to halt bombing after one of the worst attacks in Kiev

WashingtonAt least nine people have died and more than 70 have been injured in the massive Russian attack launched overnight against the Ukrainian capital, Interior Minister Ihor Klimenko announced. The massive attack comes after the US presidentDonald Trump will redouble the pressure on Zelensky. to accept a partition of Ukraine, handing over parts of its territory (Crimea and the annexed eastern provinces) to Russia. The Ukrainian leader has asked Washington to put more pressure on Russia to stop the bombings.

Trump sought to distance himself from the Russian president with an eloquent message on his social network, Truth Social: "I am not satisfied with the Russian attacks on Kiev. They are unnecessary and [come] at a very bad time. Vladimir, stop! 5,000 soldiers are dying every week." For days, the White House has adopted a new position in the peace talks, with both Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance warning that the United States will abandon the negotiating table if an agreement is not reached. Once again, the pressure is on Kiev, not Moscow.

Washington's proposed plan, as outlined by Vance during his trip to India this week, includes a series of concessions to the Kremlin that Ukraine has already said it is not willing to give up: "freezing" current territorial lines with occupied Ukrainian territories, recognizing Crimea, and banning NATO.

On Wednesday, Trump accused Zelensky of prolonging "the massacre" and making statements "that cause a lot of damage" for having ruled out recognizing Russian sovereignty over Crimea and other Ukrainian territories, and for demanding a ceasefire before starting negotiations.

The fatigue that the Trump administration seems to be trying to convey regarding the attempt to reach a truce comes a month after the minimal ceasefire agreed upon by the Republican and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. At the time, Trump celebrated it as a demonstration of his negotiating skills and the first step toward reaching a more solid and comprehensive agreement. But now the US president's haste is once again driving his agenda, as he negotiates with Kiev on a pact for the exploitation of minerals and other natural resources in Ukraine.

Rescue work

The Sviatoykhin district has been the hardest hit. "The situation is tragic. The rubble of a destroyed house is still being cleared. Engineers, rescuers, and rescue dogs are working. Phone calls can be heard from under the rubble," said the Ukrainian State Emergency Service. According to the head of Kiev's military administration, Timur Tchechenko, Russia has attacked the Ukrainian capital with drones, guided missiles, and ballistic missiles.

Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klychko said rescue teams were still pulling survivors from the rubble, and that the injured included six children and a pregnant woman. Debris from intercepted missiles also caused damage as they fell on buildings and vehicles.

Aside from the capital, Russia also launched massive attacks on the regions of Khitomyr, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Poltava, Khmelnytskyi, Sumi, and Zaporizhia. In Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city, seven missiles and 12 suicide drones were launched. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said there were two injuries and that the targets were several houses, a factory, and an apartment block in a densely populated residential area.

Olha Rudenko, director of the Kyiv Independent, criticized Washington's policy: "I can't explain what it's like to be sitting on the floor in the safest part of my apartment feeling the loud explosions of the Russian missile and drone attack after having spent the entire day discussing and editing articles about how the United States is actually demanding Ukraine's surrender."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has cut short his official trip to South Africa to return to Kiev. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he had spoken with Trump to "discuss the peace process in Ukraine" and that they had agreed "that the war must end as soon as possible to avoid further unnecessary deaths." For his part, Zelensky recalled that 44 days ago, "Ukraine agreed to a complete ceasefire, but Russia continues to kill people and evade its responsibility: it is very important that the world sees and understands what is really happening." The Ukrainian reiterates his demand for an "immediate and unconditional" ceasefire before sitting down to negotiate, and also asks for humanitarian gestures, such as the return of prisoners of war and "the creatures kidnapped by Russia".

French President Emmanuel Macron has come out in defense of the Ukrainian leader, saying that Zelensky "cannot be expected" to accept the terms of the ceasefire the United States is trying to negotiate while Russia continues to bomb Ukraine.