Russia killed at least 12 people and injured 90 others in a huge attack on Kyiv early Thursday, prompting President Trump to issue a rare public critique of Moscow just hours after he lashed out at President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.
The assault was the deadliest on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, since last summer. Explosions could be heard throughout the night; clouds of smoke rose over the city as the sun came up.
One missile hit a two-story building with 12 apartments where emergency workers hunted for survivors. A five-story building next door lost all of its windows. People stood outside, staring at the damage and talking on their phones, telling loved ones that they were alive. No military target was visible nearby.
Mr. Zelensky said nearly 70 missiles, including ballistic ones, and about 150 attack drones had targeted cities across the country — although Kyiv was the hardest hit.
Before cutting short a trip to South Africa, Mr. Zelensky told a news conference there that he saw no indication Russia was being pressured to agree to a cease-fire. He said with more pressure brought on Moscow, “we will be able to get closer to a complete, unconditional cease-fire.” To him, Mr. Zelensky added, Thursday’s attack on Kyiv instead appeared intended to pressure the United States.
About the same time, Mr. Trump lambasted President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia about the attack, showing how his administration’s positions can seem to flip-flop without warning.
“Vladimir, STOP!” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social, saying that he was “not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV.” “Not necessary, and very bad timing,” the post added.
The attack came hours after Mr. Trump and his top aides demanded that Kyiv accept an American-designed plan that would seemingly grant Russia all of the territory it has gained in the war, which started with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The plan also offered Kyiv only vague assurances about the country’s future security. So far, Mr. Zelensky has said Ukraine cannot accept such a deal.
Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has echoed Kremlin talking points in the war, a reversal of previous U.S. policy under the Biden administration. Over the past week, the Trump administration has repeatedly threatened to walk away from the peace process, claiming that the two sides were both intransigent. On Wednesday, planned peace talks in London were downgraded, largely because the United States decided not to attend.
Mr. Trump later called the Ukrainian president “inflammatory” in a post on social media and said Mr. Zelensky would only “prolong the ‘killing field.’”
“The president’s frustrated; his patience is running very thin,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters later on Wednesday. She echoed Mr. Trump in appearing to blame Mr. Zelensky, saying that Ukraine’s leader seemed to be “moving in the wrong direction.”
On Thursday, in his post on Truth Social, Mr. Trump said that he wanted to “get the Peace Deal DONE!”
Mr. Zelensky earlier pointed out that Ukraine had accepted a U.S. proposal for a 30-day cease-fire in March while Mr. Putin has refused to agree to that plan. While Mr. Putin did announce a temporary truce for Easter Sunday, it seemed like more of a public relations stunt than an actual cease-fire along the front lines. Ukrainian cities, at least, were largely spared for the truce’s 30 hours.
But that was not the case early Thursday. Shortly after midnight, the first air alarms sounded.
Yevhenii Plakhotnikov, 40, lives just across from the two-story apartment building struck by a missile. He said that he woke up to the alarm, heard the buzzing sound of drones and then started getting dressed. A message on Telegram — the messaging platform that many Ukrainians rely on for missile alerts — said a ballistic missile had been launched.
Mr. Plakhotnikov said he went to the hallway to put on his shoes.
“While I was putting on the second sneaker, I heard the first explosion,” he recalled in an interview. “Then I heard something heavy fall. All my interior doors were torn in half. I opened the door and saw shrapnel flying.”
He said he helped get other people out of his building. There, one man was standing, covered in blood. Another, a bit farther away, said merely: “That apartment building in the courtyard is gone.”
Tetyana Hrynenko, 58, stood on the street, covering her mouth with her hands and looking up her ruined apartment next to the flattened building.
“The most important thing is that we are alive,” said Ms. Hrynenko, adding that she had heard two explosions, saw clouds of dust and smelled burning. She added: “People were shouting and asking for help. I looked out into the stairwell, and there were no stairs. And I live on the fifth floor.”
Residents managed to clear the stairwell of debris, allowing Ms. Hrynenko and others to make it outside.
Friends and relatives continued to show up outside the demolished apartment building hours after the attack, hoping for good news. But there was little to be had. A brother, 21, and a sister, 19, both died.
On Thursday afternoon, dozens of classmates and friends of Danylo Khudya, 17, came to hold vigil: The teen, known as Danya, was still missing under the rubble, along with his parents. Watching the emergency workers dig, the boys were stone-faced, while many of the girls, including Danya’s girlfriend, sobbed inconsolably.
“I am waiting for Danya,” said one friend, Denys, 19, who did not want to give his last name.
Ukrainian officials have said that Russia has only intensified attacks against civilians since the start of U.S.-led peace negotiations.
Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, posted a video on social media showing emergency workers on Thursday. “Once again, Russia strikes civilians,” he said. Other Ukrainian officials urged Western partners to replenish Kyiv’s air defenses.
In March, Mr. Trump had pledged to work with Mr. Zelensky to find U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems. But when Mr. Zelensky said this month that he wanted to buy Patriots from the United States, Mr. Trump suggested that Ukraine had “started the war” and said the Ukrainian president was “always looking to purchase missiles.”
Thursday’s attack on Kyiv was one of the deadliest of the war and the worst in the capital since July, when Russian missiles destroyed a children’s hospital and killed more than 20 people throughout the city. Recent deadly missile strikes have also targeted the cities of Sumy and Kryvyi Rih, inflicting heavy civilian casualties.
By Thursday afternoon, the death toll in Kyiv had climbed to 12 as emergency workers recovered more bodies from the rubble.
Those affected by the strike said that they want the war to end but could not see accepting a one-sided deal that would benefit Russia.
“Yesterday we were very disappointed that the negotiations hadn’t moved forward, and then overnight, it hit me directly,” said Ms. Hrynenko while surveying her damaged apartment. “I am disappointed. Exhausted.”
Mr. Plakhotnikov said he did not know of a way out for Ukraine.
“There’s no point in continuing the war,” he said, “but it’s also impossible to stop.”
Andrew E. Kramer contributed reporting from Kharkiv, Ukraine, and Oleksandra Mykolyshyn from Kyiv.
Source: nytimes.com
