At least eight people were killed in fresh drone strikes across Ukraine on Friday, just hours after former President Donald Trump publicly urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to "STOP!" attacking Ukrainian territory.
The latest strikes targeted cities including Pavlohrad in eastern Ukraine, where three people, including a 76-year-old woman and a child, died. Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak confirmed that the city had been "massively attacked," resulting in injuries to 10 other civilians.
In the southern city of Kherson, Russian strikes hit critical infrastructure and residential buildings, killing two more people, according to Governor Oleksandr Prokudin. Further east, in Donetsk, two fatalities were reported, and another civilian died in Kharkiv, in Ukraine's northeast.
These attacks follow Thursday's devastating bombardment of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, which killed 12 civilians and injured 87. Ukrainian authorities identified a North Korean ballistic missile among the weapons used in that assault, highlighting an unsettling escalation in weaponry deployed by Moscow.
Despite Trump's direct appeal via his Truth Social platform-"I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!"-both Russia and Ukraine exchanged deadly drone attacks overnight.
Trump's public criticism of Russia was coupled with frustration toward Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom Trump accused earlier this week of damaging peace talks by refusing to recognize Russian control of Crimea. Zelensky has consistently stated such recognition violates Ukraine's constitution.
"It has been 44 days since Ukraine agreed to a full ceasefire and a halt to strikes. This was a proposal from the United States," Zelensky posted to social media platform X, criticizing Russia for "continuing to kill our people."
Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for Russia's Foreign Ministry, countered by accusing Zelensky of attempting to "torpedo the emerging peace process at any cost."
Trump's controversial peace proposal reportedly includes recognition of Crimea-illegally annexed by Russia in 2014-as Russian territory. Diplomatic sources told CNN the suggestion alarmed European allies, breaking a longstanding international consensus against forcibly changing borders established after World War II.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov indicated Moscow remains open to a deal, but said negotiations required further "fine-tuning." Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Friday to advance discussions directly with Putin, signaling that despite heightened violence, diplomatic channels remain active.
Amid questions from reporters about Russia's concessions, Trump asserted, "Stopping the war, stopping taking the whole country. Pretty big concession," adding that Russia understood the pressure from the U.S. administration.
