Ukraine Faces New Deadly Russian Strikes Despite Trump’s Appeal to Putin

Russia carried out a fresh wave of airstrikes across Ukraine overnight, killing at least eight people, despite a public plea from U.S. President Donald Trump urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the violence.

The attacks, which included both drone and missile strikes, struck multiple regions and came just a day after Russia’s deadliest offensive on Ukraine since mid-2024.

In Pavlohrad, a city in eastern Ukraine, three people were killed—including a 76-year-old woman and a child—while 10 others were injured in a drone strike, according to Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak.

In Kherson, located in southern Ukraine, two people lost their lives after Russian strikes hit key infrastructure and residential areas, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin confirmed. Additional casualties included two deaths in Donetsk and one in Kharkiv, in the country’s northeast.

Kyiv endured the most severe impact, with a major bombardment on Thursday leaving 12 people dead and 87 injured. On Friday, emergency crews completed rescue operations at a collapsed residential building, which Ukrainian authorities claim was hit by a North Korean ballistic missile.

The fresh wave of attacks came shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump voiced his frustration over stalled peace negotiations. On Truth Social, he posted, “Vladimir, STOP!” and later told reporters he believed both Russia and Ukraine “want peace.”

Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is scheduled to arrive in Moscow on Friday to resume discussions with Russian officials. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking to CBS News, confirmed Moscow’s openness to a peace deal, while stressing that several “specific points” remain unresolved.

Meanwhile, relations between the Trump administration and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have become increasingly strained. Trump accused Zelensky of obstructing peace efforts after the Ukrainian leader reiterated his refusal to recognize Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, citing constitutional violations.

Diplomatic insiders told CNN that the Trump administration is now considering officially recognizing Crimea as part of Russia in a potential peace agreement—marking a dramatic policy shift that has raised concerns among U.S. allies in Europe.

The disagreement over Crimea is the latest in a series of public clashes between Trump and Zelensky. When reporters questioned him on Thursday about what concessions Russia had offered, 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.”