Zelenskyy says at least 22 people killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine, hours after Trump put pressure on Moscow

The Guardian

29-07-2025

Update:
Date: 2025-07-29T10:37:29.000Z
Title: Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Content: At least 85 people injured in overnight attacks after Trump said he will shorten the deadline for reaching an agreement on a ceasefire to '10-12 days'
Jakub Krupa
Tue 29 Jul 2025 11.37 BST
First published on Tue 29 Jul 2025 08.44 BST
From
9.06am BST
09:06
Ukrainian president has just confirmed that at least 22 people were killed, and 85 injured in attacks targeting 73 Ukrainian cities and villages overnight, just hours after 'everyone once again felt hope for an end to the killings.'
He described some of the attacks in more detail, including a strike on a city hospital in Kamianske which killed three, including a pregnant 23-year-old woman, and a 'deliberate' attack on a civilian penal colony in Zaporizhia.
Zelenskyy said:
Every murder of our people by the Russians; every Russian strike, when there could have been a ceasefire long ago, if Russia had not refused – all this shows that Moscow deserves very tough, truly painful, and therefore fair and effective sanctions pressure.
They must be forced to stop the killings and make peace.
He thanked US president Donald Trump for his comments on Monday, and to all leaders putting pressure on Russia, but added:
Peace is possible, but only when Russia stops the war that it started and stops tormenting our people.
11.37am BST
11:37
Meanwhile over in Brussels, EU trade spokesperson Olof Gill offered a bit more detail on what's going on with the EU-US agreement amid growing questions about some of the details of what was agreed and let's say less than whole-hearted support from some member states.
Addressing the media at the European Commission's briefing just now, Gill said:
'Let me just be totally clear about what's happening here, folks.
So on Sunday, the two presidents reached a deal, a political agreement.
What we are doing now is taking that political agreement, fleshing out the details, making sure that everything we need to be in there is in there that will lead to a joint statement. I can't tell you precisely when that joint statement will be ready, but it should be soon.
That joint statement itself is not a legally binding document, but rather it's a road map. It's a political commitment, a series of political commitments, if you like.
And from that, we can generate the stability I talked about, the predictability I talked about, that we can get back to doing what we do best in terms of transatlantic trade and investment.
Our companies are deeply integrated supply chains, moving products and services across the Atlantic on a daily basis, worth €1.6tn annually.
And from there, we will look at further areas where we can reduce tariffs and other areas of cooperation.
But the joint statement, we view it as a kind of a platform, a foundation, from which we can allow transatlantic trade to continue to grow and to develop.'
He added:
'So we have now achieved and across the board, all inclusive tariff ceiling of 15%. That's not the perfect outcome for the EU, nor is it the perfect outcome for the US.
We believe it gives us a platform for moving forward, for putting this kind of saga behind us, and focusing on allowing transatlantic trade to develop, to cooperate in key areas of economic and geopolitical importance in an unstable world.
And we are confident that this can enjoy the backing of our member states, of our businesses, of our citizens. We are making the best of a challenging situation, and we are determined to make this deal work.'
11.03am BST
11:03
We are now getting a reaction from the Kremlin, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling journalists that Russia 'has taken note' of president Trump's comments yesterday.
He then said that a 'special military operation' – that's their term for the illegal invasion of Ukraine – continues, but Russia 'remains committed to the peace process to resolve the conflict around Ukraine and secure our interests' – despite deadly attacks overnight.
Peskov also confirmed that there was a 'slowdown' in Russian efforts to revive diplomatic relations with the US.
10.16am BST
10:16
Speaking of Russian and Russian-inspired attacks, Poland said today that it believed a Colombian national acting on behalf of Russian intelligence services carried out two arson attacks in Poland last year.
The 27-year-old was trained by a person linked to Russian intelligence services, receiving detailed instructions on how to carry out the attacks, Polish authorities said.
The man was also later involved in an arson attack on a bus depot in the Czech Republic and was planning to carry out another attack on a shopping mall before being detained by the Czech authorities.
The Polish Internal Security Agency, or ABW, said that Russian intelligence services were using messaging service Telegram to 'systemically and at large scale recruit people of Latin American origin and with previous military experience' to carry out attacks, later distributing photos and videos online for propaganda reasons.
The man was already sentenced to eight years in prison in the Czech Republic, and faces another sentence in Poland.
The disclosure from the Polish authorities come after the Czech intelligence services warned in their annual report that Russian recruiters particularly targeted poorer economic migrants from outside the EU to carry out attacks (Europe live earlier this month).
Updated
at 10.21am BST
9.39am BST
09:39
9.06am BST
09:06
Ukrainian president has just confirmed that at least 22 people were killed, and 85 injured in attacks targeting 73 Ukrainian cities and villages overnight, just hours after 'everyone once again felt hope for an end to the killings.'
He described some of the attacks in more detail, including a strike on a city hospital in Kamianske which killed three, including a pregnant 23-year-old woman, and a 'deliberate' attack on a civilian penal colony in Zaporizhia.
Zelenskyy said:
Every murder of our people by the Russians; every Russian strike, when there could have been a ceasefire long ago, if Russia had not refused – all this shows that Moscow deserves very tough, truly painful, and therefore fair and effective sanctions pressure.
They must be forced to stop the killings and make peace.
He thanked US president Donald Trump for his comments on Monday, and to all leaders putting pressure on Russia, but added:
Peace is possible, but only when Russia stops the war that it started and stops tormenting our people.
9.00am BST
09:00
Lisa O'Carroll
in Brussels
Pharmaceutical exports from the EU to the US could be hit by 15% tariffs as soon as Friday, according to the White House.
It published a text on the EU trade deal stating pharma will be taxed at the base rate agreed in deal sealed at Donald Trump's golf course on Sunday.
But it has caused yet more confusion because it comes less than 24 hours after EU officials were told that pharma would remain duty free until Trump's 232 national security investigations into pharma and semiconductors concluded.
As part of President Trump's strategy to establish balanced trade, the European Union will pay the United States a tariff rate of 15%, including on autos and auto parts, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors.
However he had also said earlier this month he was going to phase in tariffs for pharma this week.
The text also says that the EU has agreed not to introduce a tech tax.
It says:
'The United States and the European Union intend to address unjustified digital trade barriers. In that respect, the European Union confirms that it will not adopt or maintain network usage fees. Furthermore, the United States and the European Union will maintain zero customs duties on electronic transmissions.'
8.53am BST
08:53
Lisa O'Carroll
in Brussels
The EU is considering partially suspending Israel from its flagship Horizon Europe science research programme, in the first concrete sanction of Benjamin Netanyahu's government since the killing of civilians in Gaza started.
It is understood the move will need qualified majority of support from member states, meaning no one country can block it.
As world continues to condemn the humanitarian catastrophe including demands by Donald Trump yesterday that the starvation of Gazan people must stop, it is the first sign that the bloc is prepared to take a concrete action.
'While Israel has announced a daily humanitarian pause in Gaza fighting and has met some of its commitments under the common understanding on humanitarian aid and access, the situation remains severe,' said a statement released by the Commission on 28 July.
It added that the suspension would flow from its review of the trade association agreement with Israel, prompted by calls for a review of the agreement by the Netherlands backed by 17 countries in May.
'This suspension comes as a reaction to the review Art. 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Respect for these obligations constitutes an essential part of EU-Israel cooperation under the Agreement, including for bilateral scientific and technological cooperation between the two parties.'
The decision was been taken by the college of European commissioners on Monday and will be put to the council of member states.
Updated
at 9.07am BST
8.44am BST
08:44
Jakub Krupa
More than 20 people were killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine overnight, just hours after US president Donald Trump sought to put more pressure on Moscow by shortening the deadline for reaching an agreement on a ceasefire to '10-12' days.
At least 16 people were killed in an attack on a Ukrainian prison, with more than 35 injured. More people died in other attacks in different parts of the country, including on a hospital and a private home, authorities reported.
Andriy Yermak, top aide to Ukraine's president , said:
This is another war crime by the Russians, who will not stop if they are not stopped.
He added:
'Putin's regime, which also issues threats against the United States through some of its mouthpieces, must face economic and military blows that strip it of the capacity to wage war.'
President Zelenskyy expressed Ukraine's high hopes last night, saying that Trump's declaration was 'right on time, when a lot can change through strength for real peace.'
Let's see if we get any further reaction to the overnight attacks.
Elsewhere, we will be looking for more reactions from the EU and across the bloc to the EU-US trade deal signed at the weekend, the latest on German response to Gaza as chancellor Friedrich Merz meets with Jordanian King Abdullah II, and more news from across the continent.
I will bring you all key updates from across Europe here.
It's Tuesday, 29 July 2025, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.