KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� A targeted Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv on Saturday, killing at least three people and injuring 21, local officials said. The barrage 鈥� the latest in near daily widescale attacks 鈥� included aerial glide bombs that have become part of a fierce Russian onslaught in the .
The intensity of the Russian attacks on Ukraine over the past weeks has further dampened hopes that the warring sides could reach a peace deal anytime soon days 鈥� especially after Kyiv recently embarrassed the Kremlin with a deep inside Russia.
According to Ukraine鈥檚 Air Force, Russia struck with 215 missiles and drones overnight, and Ukrainian air defenses shot down and neutralized 87 drones and seven missiles.
Several other areas in Ukraine were also hit, including the regions of Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and the city of Ternopil, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on X.
鈥淭o put an end to Russia鈥檚 killing and destruction, more pressure on Moscow is required, as are more steps to strengthen Ukraine,鈥� he said.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the latest attack.
Kharkiv鈥檚 mayor Ihor Terekhov said the strikes also damaged 18 apartment buildings and 13 private homes. Terekhov said it was 鈥渢he most powerful attack鈥� on the city since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Kharkiv鈥檚 regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said two districts in the city were struck with three missiles, five aerial glide bombs and 48 drones. Among the injured were two children, a month and a half old boy and a 14-year old girl, he added.
The attack on Kharkiv comes one day after Russia launched one of the fiercest barrages on Ukraine, striking six Ukrainian territories and killing at least six people and injuring about 80. Among the dead were three emergency responders in Kyiv, one person in Lutsk and two people in Chernihiv.
U.S. President Donald Trump said this week that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to Ukraine鈥檚 attack on Russian military airfields last Sunday.
Trump also said that it might be before pulling them apart and pursuing peace. Trump鈥檚 comments were a remarkable detour from his often-stated appeals to stop the war and signaled he may be giving up on recent peace efforts.
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Samya Kullab And Volodymyr Yurchuk, The Associated Press
