Trump slams Russia's 'disgusting' Kyiv strikes, threatens new sanctions
'Russia – I think it's disgusting what they're doing. I think it's disgusting,' Trump told reporters.
Trump also said he would send his special envoy Steve Witkoff, currently in Israel, to visit Russia next.
More than 130 people were injured in Russia's strike, with a 5-month-old girl among 14 children wounded. It was the highest number of children injured in a single attack on Kyiv since the start of Russia's invasion three years ago, according to public records consulted by The Associated Press.
'Today, the world once again saw Russia's answer to our desire for peace with America and Europe,' Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. 'New demonstrative killings. That is why peace without strength is impossible.' He called on Ukraine's allies to follow through on defence commitments and pressure Moscow toward real negotiations.
Yana Zhabborova, 35, a resident of the damaged building, woke up to the sound of thundering explosions, which blew off the doors and windows of her home.
'It is just stress and shock that there is nothing left,' said Ms Zhabborova, a mother of a 5-month-old infant and a 5-year-old child.
Russia fired 309 Shahed and decoy drones, and eight Iskander-K cruise missiles overnight, the Ukrainian air force said. Ukrainian air defences intercepted and jammed 288 strike drones and three missiles. Five missiles and 21 drones struck targets.
Russian troops also struck a residential 5-story building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, according to the head of Donetsk regional military administration Vadym Filashkin. He said one person was killed and at least 11 more injured.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has already met Witkoff multiple times in Moscow, before Trump's efforts to mend ties with the Kremlin came to a grinding halt.
Washington has given Moscow until the end of next week to cease hostilities in Ukraine, under threat of severe economic sanctions.
Trump reiterated the deadline on Thursday.
'We're going to put sanctions. I don't know that sanctions bother him,' the US president said, referring to Putin.
The Kremlin shrugged the threats, with Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, claiming Russia's economy had 'acquired immunity' from the sanctions.
Trump has previously threatened that new measures could mean 'secondary tariffs' targeting Russia's remaining trade partners, such as China and India. This would further stifle Russia, but would risk significant international disruption.
The US president began his second term with his own rosy predictions that the war in Ukraine – raging since Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022 – would soon end.
In recent weeks, Trump has increasingly voiced frustration with Putin over Moscow's unrelenting offensive. The Times
Rather than formal recognition, the EU is more concerned – and divided – over sanctions on Israel. Nation
Australia has escaped further US tariff hikes after Donald Trump left the nation on his baseline rate of 10 per cent, in a move lauded by the Albanese government as a win for Australian exporters.
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