
Russian missile strikes eastern Ukraine, kills at least 14
Kyiv/IBNS: At least 14 people were killed and 37 wounded after the Russian forces launched a missile attack on the eastern city of Ukraine, Dobropillia, media reports said.
Apart from the missile, the Russian forces launched the attack with ballistic missiles, multiple rockets and drones.
Eight multi-storey buildings and 30 vehicles were damaged by the strike, Reuters reported.
"While extinguishing the fire, the occupiers struck again, damaging the fire truck," the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said.
Last night, the Russian army struck the center of Dobropillya in the Donetsk region with two ballistic missiles. After our emergency services arrived at the scene, they launched another strike, deliberately targeting the rescuers. This is a vile and inhumane intimidation tactic… pic.twitter.com/IR6D4NOCTT
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 8, 2025
Slamming Moscow, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Facebook, "Such strikes show that targets in Russia are unchanged.
"That is why it is very important to continue to do everything to protect lives, strengthen our PPO, intensify sanctions against Russia. Everything that helps Putin finance war must be broken."
Dobropillia, where 28,000 people used to live before the Russia-Ukraine war, is located 94 kilometers northwest of Russian-occupied Donetsk, which is the major economic, industrial and scientific centre of Ukraine.
The US' decision to stop military and intelligence aid to Ukraine has made Kyiv vulnerable to Russian attacks now.
Reports claim US President Donald Trump's decision to pause intelligence aid has raised concerns that Kyiv won't receive warnings about the Russian strikes.
This happened days after Trump and Zelenskyy were engaged in a heated war of words publicly at a press conference on Russia-Ukraine war.
Zelenskyy has, however, recently said his country is working with the US to "accelerate peace".
The Ukrainian President posted on X, "We continue working with partners who seek peace just as we do, focusing on the necessary steps. Next week, there will be a lot of work here in Europe, with the U.S., and in Saudi Arabia – we are preparing a meeting to accelerate peace and strengthen the foundations of security.
"Today, intense work with President Trump’s team has been ongoing at various levels – numerous calls. The topic is clear – peace as soon as possible, security as reliably as possible. Ukraine is fully committed to a constructive approach. "I thank everyone who is helping."
We continue working with partners who seek peace just as we do, focusing on the necessary steps. Next week, there will be a lot of work here in Europe, with the U.S., and in Saudi Arabia – we are preparing a meeting to accelerate peace and strengthen the foundations of security.… pic.twitter.com/RDoGpHNwUl
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 7, 2025
But Trump, speaking to reporters Friday at the Oval Office, said he takes Russian President Vladimir Putin at his word when Putin says he wants peace.
"I believe him. I think we're doing very well with Russia," Trump said, acknowledging that for the moment "they're bombing the hell out of Ukraine."
"He’s doing what anybody else would do," the U.S. president said of Putin. "I think probably anybody in that position would be doing that right now."
Trump also expressed continued frustration with Kyiv.
"I'm finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine. They don’t have the cards," he told reporters.
When asked if the United States would consider giving Ukraine additional air defenses, Trump said it depended on Ukraine.
"I have to know that they want to settle. I don’t know that they want to settle," he said. "If they don't want to settle, we're out of there because we want them to settle."
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.