Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy yesterday called for more sanctions against Russia as overnight strikes killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens more, days ahead of talks between US and Ukrainian negotiators aimed at securing a truce.
A Russian assault hit the center of Dobropillia in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region late on Friday, killing 11 people and wounding 30, emergency services said.
Separately, three people were killed and seven were wounded in a drone attack early yesterday in Bogodukhiv, Kharkiv Governor Oleg Synegubov said.
Photo: AFP
Russia fired two missiles and 145 drones at Bogodukhiv, the Ukrainian Air Force said.
The overnight air raids came after US President Donald Trump threatened new sanctions and tariffs on Russia, but said it might be “easier” to work with Moscow than Kyiv on efforts to end the three-year-long war.
“Such strikes show that Russia’s goals are unchanged. Therefore, it is very important to continue to do everything to protect life, strengthen our air defence, and increase sanctions against Russia,” Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram.
In Dobropillia, there were charred residential buildings, flattened market stalls and evidence of cluster bomb damage.
Irina Kostenko, 59, spent the night cowering in her hallway with her husband. When she left the apartment building yesterday, she saw a neighbor “lying dead on the ground, covered with a blanket.”
“It was shocking, I don’t have the words to describe it,” Kostenko said.
Zelenskiy said that Russia had struck Dobropillia, waited until rescuers arrived and then “deliberately” targeted them as well.
“This is a despicable and inhumane tactic of intimidation that the Russians often use,” he said.
US and Ukrainian negotiators are due to meet in Saudi Arabia next week with bilateral relations frayed.
Trump publicly berated Zelenskiy during a White House meeting and suspended US aid to Kyiv in a stated bid to encourage diplomacy.
“I’m finding it more difficult frankly to deal with Ukraine and they don’t have the cards,” Trump said on Friday. “It may be easier dealing with Russia.”
The remarks followed Trump on Friday threatening new sanctions and tariffs on Russia over its bombardments of Ukraine.
“To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late,” he added.
Zelenskiy is due to land in Saudi Arabia tomorrow for talks with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
The meeting is a day before Ukrainian officials are expected to hold fresh talks with their US counterparts there.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said its air defense systems destroyed 31 Ukrainian drones over the past night.
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
SOUTH CHINA SEA? The Philippine president spoke of adding more classrooms and power plants, while skipping tensions with China over disputed areas Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday blasted “useless and crumbling” flood control projects in a state of the nation address that focused on domestic issues after a months-long feud with his vice president. Addressing a joint session of congress after days of rain that left at least 31 dead, Marcos repeated his recent warning that the nation faced a climate change-driven “new normal,” while pledging to investigate publicly funded projects that had failed. “Let’s not pretend, the people know that these projects can breed corruption. Kickbacks ... for the boys,” he said, citing houses that were “swept away” by the floods. “Someone has
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation unilaterally released a statement saying that, as of April 1, the Taipei Liaison Offices in Pretoria and Cape Town had been renamed the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town.” Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it said that South Africa “recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole
RSS