KYIV, Ukraine — One person was killed Sunday as Russian air strikes hit the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, while the death toll from Friday’s deadly attack on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih continued to rise.
The Kyiv victim was found close to the strike’s epicenter of the attack in the city’s Darnytskyi district, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. A further three people were injured in the strike, which saw fires break out in several nonresidential areas, damaging cars and buildings.
In a statement on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the intensifying Russian attacks showed that there is still insufficient international pressure on Moscow.
He said Russia has launched more than 1,460 guided aerial bombs, nearly 670 attack drones and more than 30 missiles at Ukraine in the past week alone.
“These attacks are (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s response to all international diplomatic efforts. Each of our partners – the United States, all of Europe, the entire world — has seen that Russia intends to continue the war and the killing,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.
“That is why there can be no easing of pressure. All efforts must be aimed at guaranteeing security and bringing peace closer.”
Mr. Zelenskyy also said that the missiles fired into Ukraine had been launched by Russian ships stationed in the Black Sea. While U.S. negotiators announced on March 25 that both Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to a Black Sea ceasefire, the Kremlin has pushed for some Western sanctions against Russia to be lifted before such an agreement comes into force.
“This is one reason why Russia distorts diplomacy and will not agree to an unconditional (Black Sea) ceasefire: They want to retain the opportunity to strike at our cities and our ports from the sea,” Mr. Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. “A ceasefire at sea is not only about free navigation and maritime food supplies, it is, above all, about security.”
Mr. Zelenskyy met the leaders of the British and French armed forces in Kyiv Saturday to discuss the potential deployment of a multinational peacekeeping force to Ukraine, despite the reluctance of U.S. President Trump to provide security guarantees.
The U.K. Ministry of Defense said that officials addressed the structure, size and composition of any future “reassurance force,” while the chief of the defense staff, Adm. Antony Radakin, emphasized that the U.K. would look to “build on the formidable capabilities of the Ukrainian army and put them in the strongest possible position to deter Russian aggression.”
The weekend discussions are planned to set the ground for a further meeting.
Ukraine also announced Saturday that negotiations on a new draft of a deal that would give the U.S. access to Ukraine’s valuable mineral resources will begin in Washington this week.
Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko told The Associated Press that a new draft agreement from the U.S. shows shows there is still interest on the part of the Trump administration in creating a joint investment deal on the minerals.
Meanwhile, officials said that the death toll from Friday’s attack on the central city of Kryvyi Rih had continued to grow, with 19 dead – including many children — and a further 75 wounded.
A team from the U.N. Human Rights Office in Ukraine visited the impact site Saturday to document the damage and establish the identities of the nine children killed in the attack. They described it as the deadliest single verified strike harming children since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Local authorities said the Kryvyi Rih strike damaged 44 apartment buildings and 23 private houses.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Friday that it had carried out a high-precision missile strike with a high explosive warhead on a restaurant where a meeting with unit commanders and Western instructors was taking place.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that its air defenses had destroyed 11 Ukrainian drones, including eight over the Rostov region and two over the Kursk region.
