Russian attacks on four Ukrainian cities leave 15 injured
The latest bombardment in Russia's escalating aerial campaign against civilian areas came ahead of a September 2 deadline set by US President Donald Trump for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal in the three-year war, under the threat of possible severe Washington sanctions if it does not.
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No date has yet been publicly set for a possible third round of direct peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine. Two previous rounds delivered no progress apart from prisoner swaps.
Russia launched 400 Shahed and decoy drones, as well as one ballistic missile, during the night, the Ukrainian air force said.
Rescue workers try to put out a fire at an apartment building (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)
The strikes targeted north-eastern Kharkiv, which is Ukraine's second-largest city, President Volodymyr Zelensky's home town of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, Vinnytsia in the west and Odesa in the south.
'Russia does not change its strategy,' Mr Zelensky said. 'To effectively counter this terror, we need a systemic strengthening of defence: more air defence, more interceptors, and more resolve so that Russia feels our response.'
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Mr Trump has pledged to deliver more weapons to Ukraine, including vital Patriot air defence systems, and threatened to slap additional sanctions on Russia.
It was his toughest stance towards Russian President Vladimir Putin since he returned to the White House nearly six months ago.
But some US lawmakers and European government officials expressed misgivings that the 50-day deadline handed Mr Putin the opportunity to capture more Ukrainian territory before any settlement to end the fighting.
Other US ultimatums to Mr Putin in recent months have failed to persuade the Russian leader to stop his invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
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Tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed in the war, many of them along the 620-mile front line, and Russian barrages of cities have killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, the United Nations said.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said on Tuesday that 'Putin holds a theory of victory that posits that Russia can achieve its war aims by continuing to make creeping gains on the battlefield indefinitely and outlasting Western support for Ukraine and Ukraine's ability to defend itself'.
Mr Trump said the US is providing additional weapons for Ukraine but European countries are paying for them. While Ukraine and European officials were relieved at the US commitment after months of hesitation, some hoped Washington might shoulder some of the cost.
'We welcome President Trump's announcement to send more weapons to Ukraine, although we would like to see the US share the burden,' European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday. 'If we pay for these weapons, it's our support.'
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