Ukraine-Russia conflict newest: Putin accused of ‘pure terrorism’ after 14 killed in huge assault on Kyiv
Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Vladimir Putin of “pure terrorism” after at least 15 people were killed and 116 others were injured in a massive attack on Ukraine overnight.
The Ukrainian president called the attack “one of the most horrific” of the war so far, with Ukrainian officials saying 14 were killed in Kyiv and one person was reported dead in Odesa. In total, Russia fired almost 500 drones and missiles across Ukraine, in one of Moscow’s largest attacks since invading Ukraine in February 2022.
“Such attacks are pure terrorism. And the whole world, the United States, and Europe must finally respond as a civilised society responds to terrorists,” Mr Zelensky said, adding that it was still unclear how many remained trapped under the debris.
The attack came just hours after Donald Trump claimed it was a mistake to throw Russia out of what was formerly the G8.
“This was a big mistake,” said the US president, adding that he believed Russia would not have invaded Ukraine in 2022 had Mr Putin not been ejected from the high-profile group of nations. “Putin speaks to me. He doesn’t speak to anybody else … he’s not a happy person about it,” Mr Trump said.
Trump’s early exit forces G7 to abandon joint statement on Ukraine
Canada dropped plans for the G7 to issue a strong statement on the war in Ukraine after resistance from the United States, a Canadian official told reporters.
The G7 wealthy nations struggled to find unity over the conflict in Ukraine after Trump expressed support for Russian president Vladimir Putin and left a day early to address the Israel-Iran conflict from Washington.
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney said Ottawa would provide C$2bn ($1.47bn) in new military assistance for Kyiv as well as impose new financial sanctions.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he had told the G7 leaders that “diplomacy is now in a state of crisis” and said they need to continue calling on Donald Trump “to use his real influence” to force an end to the war, in a post on his Telegram account.
Source: independent.co.uk
