A Russian strike on a Ukrainian kindergarten in the country’s second-biggest city killed seven people, including two children. The strike happened just hours after the White House announced a meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine had been called off.
Officials say Russia targeted civilians in Kharkiv, as well as in the capital, Kyiv, on Wednesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attacks showed that a telephone call between Trump and Putin last week was not enough to pause the war.
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What are the details of the attack?
Videos and photos released after the attack show authorities carrying children out of a destroyed building. In addition to the seven killed, the attack injured 27 people, including children.
Videos from Tuesday showed a different Russian drone strike in Sumy, Ukraine, that injured at least nine other people.
Zelenskyy called Wednesday’s attack a “spit in the face” of peace. He also said it demonstrated his country’s need for long-range Tomahawk missiles to defend against Russia.
The Ukrainian president was in Washington on Friday to discuss the possibility of the U.S. sending missiles to Ukraine. However, Trump said he would likely not provide the arms because it would be considered an escalation of the war. Before speaking with Putin, Trump had expressed a willingness to allow Ukraine to use U.S. Tomahawks.
How far along is a ceasefire plan?
After Friday’s meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump, the White House said Trump and Putin would meet for a second time this year to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. While a date wasn’t set, officials said the meeting would take place in Hungary.
However, on Tuesday, the White House said the meeting was on hold, calling a meeting between the two leaders “not necessary.” Officials canceled the meeting after a phone call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. White House officials said the phone call was “productive.”
However, NBC News said the phone call caused a roadblock with Trump’s new peace plan. Officials said Lavrov had become “exercised” during the call and reiterated Russia’s refusal to declare a ceasefire before negotiations for a permanent end to the war.
Trump said that the two countries should stop fighting along the current lines of the war. Russia currently controls about 20% of Ukraine. While Zelenskyy said he accepts a ceasefire without addressing current battle lines, Russia has refused.
Lavrov reportedly said Russia’s demands are concrete, including major territorial concessions from Ukraine and international recognition of its annexation of Crimea following a 2014 invasion. Few nations recognize Crimea as a part of Russia.
NBC also reported that Rubio told Lavrov he didn’t want to “waste his time and the president’s time” if Russia wasn’t ready to discuss a ceasefire along the current front lines. Lavrov responded that there would be no further talks if the U.S. wasn’t going to adhere to what Trump and Putin agreed to during their meeting in August in Alaska.
