INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
President Donald Trump called on Russia's Vladimir Putin to end his war on Ukraine after Russian airstrikes against Kyiv early Thursday
with the Russian strikes on KYIV
Not necessary, and very bad timing," Trump wrote on Truth Social
"Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying
Let's get this Peace Deal DONE!"Loud blasts sounded over Kyiv at around 1:00 a.m
on Thursday after air raid sirens blared across the city, warning residents to head to shelters
During the night, rescue workers sifted through the rubble of destroyed buildings and tackled blazes in apartment blocks.Initially,
emergency authorities said eight people were killed and around 60 others were wounded
district has risen to 12 after rescuers recovered the bodies of two more people from under the rubble," Ukraine's State Emergency Service
said in a statement on Telegram
"Rescue operations are ongoing."The attacks throw yet more doubt on already fraught U.S
efforts to push Russia and Ukraine to agree to a ceasefire, hours after Trump lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for
refusing to accept Moscow's occupation of Crimea as a condition for peace.Zelensky cancelled part of his trip to South Africa after Russia
president Cyril Ramaphosa."It has been 44 days since Ukraine agreed to a full ceasefire and a halt to strikes..
Washington, which he said is not pushing the Kremlin hard enough to negotiate peace in earnest.Putin has yet to respond to Zelensky's
proposal to halt air attacks on civilian targets
Last month, the Kremlin leader also rejected a U.S.-Ukrainian call for a full and unconditional ceasefire."Putin shows only a desire to
kill," Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Zelensky, said as Russia unleashed its attack overnight
"The attacks on civilians must stop."Later on Thursday, Russia's Defense Ministry claimed that the overnight attacks it carried out against
Ukraine targeted "military sites" using "high-precision weapons," as well as drones."The targets were Ukrainian facilities involved in the
aviation, missile and space, machine-building and armored vehicle industries, as well as sites producing rocket fuel and gunpowder," the
Defense Ministry said in a statement
"All objectives were hit and the strike achieved its intended goals."Kyiv was last hit by missiles in early April when at least three people
It has been the target of sporadic attacks since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.Russia's military has launched
some of its most deadly and brazen air attacks on Ukraine over the last month, defying Trump's push to bring a rapid end to the war.AFP
