A Russian drone ploughed into a residential residence in central Ukraine overnight Thursday, killing three members of one family, including a one-year-old baby, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed.
Zelensky accused Moscow of “buying time for itself to continue killing” and urged the West to impose “maximum sanctions” and “pressure” on Moscow, despite Russia’s repeated rejection of calls for a full and unconditional ceasefire.
Pryluky, a city in central Ukraine, saw five individuals slaughtered, including three generations of the same family.
A local firefighting chief was responding to an earlier attack when his own home was targeted by a Russian drone, according to officials.
“His wife, daughter and one-year-old grandson were killed,” Zelensky said.
Photos showed houses on fire, blowing grey smoke into the pitch-black sky as rescuers battled the blaze.
An image at daybreak, issued by the emergency services, showed a firefighter standing in the burnt-out carcass of a residential property, the roof gone, surrounded by charred ashes and rubble.
“Russia is constantly trying to buy time for itself to continue killing. When it does not feel strong enough condemnation and pressure from the world, it kills again,” Zelensky said.
“This is yet another reason to impose maximum sanctions and put pressure together. We expect action from the United States, Europe, and everyone in the world who can really help change these terrible circumstances,” he added.
Fighting and aerial raids have risen in recent weeks, despite the fact that the sides have had two rounds of talks in Istanbul, which they claim are aimed at ending the three-year war.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin promised US President Donald Trump on Wednesday that Moscow will respond to an audacious Ukrainian drone strike that damaged four Russian nuclear-capable military jets over the weekend, Trump said following a phone chat between the two leaders.
Another incident in the northern city of Kharkiv injured 18 people, including four children, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko stated in a social media post.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, tens of thousands of people have been dead, vast areas of eastern and southern Ukraine have been destroyed, and millions have been forced to escape their homes.
