A Russian drone struck a residential home in central Ukraine overnight on Thursday, killing five people — including three generations of the same family — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Among the dead was a one-year-old baby.
Zelensky strongly condemned the attack, accusing Moscow of trying to “buy time for itself to continue killing” and renewing his call for the West to impose “maximum sanctions” and increase pressure on the Kremlin. He criticised Russia’s continued rejection of demands for a full, unconditional ceasefire.
The deadly strike hit Pryluky, a city in central Ukraine. According to officials, a local firefighting chief had been responding to an earlier attack when his own home was targeted by a Russian drone.
“His wife, daughter, and one-year-old grandson were killed,” Zelensky said.
Photos from the scene showed homes engulfed in flames, grey smoke rising into the night sky, and rescuers battling to contain the blaze. A morning image released by emergency services captured the aftermath — a firefighter standing inside the charred remains of a house, its roof completely destroyed.
“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.”
The attack comes amid a sharp escalation in fighting and aerial assaults in recent weeks, even as peace talks continue in Istanbul in hopes of ending the three-year conflict.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly told former US President Donald Trump on Wednesday that Moscow would respond to a bold Ukrainian drone strike that destroyed several Russian nuclear-capable military jets over the weekend.
In another attack, 18 people — including four children — were wounded in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, according to Ukraine’s Interior Minister, Igor Klymenko.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, tens of thousands have been killed, large parts of eastern and southern Ukraine have been devastated, and millions of people have been forced to flee their homes.
