A Russian missile strike has killed one person in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, with a separate drone attack killing another person in the nearby city of Sumy.
At least five children were among dozens of people injured in Friday morning’s attack on Kharkiv that damaged 15 residential buildings, a business and an educational facility, according to Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov and emergency services.
In Sumy, a drone hit a bakery producing Easter cakes, killing at least one and injuring another person.
Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi said Russia also targeted Lviv, Dnipro, Mykolaiv and Kyiv.
“We saw multiple missile, drone, artillery, and rocket attacks in cities across the country around 5am local time when curfews come to a close and people begin their daily lives,” he said.
“[In Kharkiv], civilian infrastructure was damaged, one person was killed, and 74 were injured. Of the 74, five were children aged 3, 4, 14, 16, and a 17-year-old boy. There was damage to dozens of apartments and vehicles,” Basravi reported.
“In Dnipro, no reports of dead or injured yet, but we do know it was a missile attack that hit an area with businesses, including a gym, hotel, and an office block, causing quite a lot of damage.”
He said Ukrainian air defences were reported to have shot down three cruise missiles and nearly two dozen drones.
Trump threatens to exit Ukraine peace talks
Despite the latest attacks, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US President Donald Trump is prepared to abandon efforts to negotiate peace between Russia and Ukraine unless concrete progress is seen within days, .
Speaking in Paris following discussions with European and Ukrainian officials, Rubio signalled a looming cut-off point for the White House’s involvement in the stalled peace initiative.
“We’re not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end. So we need to determine very quickly now, and I’m talking about a matter of days, whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks,” Rubio told reporters.
“The president feels very strongly about that. He has dedicated a lot of time and energy to this … this is important, but there are a lot of other really important things going on that deserve just as much, if not more attention.”
No official responses came from Paris, London, Berlin, Kyiv or Moscow regarding Rubio’s remarks. The comments, however, coincided with signals that Washington may be making some headway in talks with Kyiv.
On Thursday, President Trump said he expected to finalise a deal with Ukraine next week that would allow the United States access to the country’s mineral resources—a sign that, despite political friction, economic cooperation remains a key incentive in the relationship.
Civilian targets
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that although Russia had seemingly scaled back its targeting of energy infrastructure, the overall volume of missile and drone attacks remained unchanged. It is striking Ukraine’s civilian sites instead, he added.
Meanwhile, Moscow warned of potential escalation if Germany proceeds with plans to send Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine.
Speaking at the United Nations on Thursday, Russia’s ambassador Vassily Nebenzia declared that such a move would mark Germany’s direct entry into the war.
“These countries are waging a war against Russia using their proxy forces,” he said. “Delivering Taurus missiles would be another step toward escalation.”
With a range of more than 500 kilometres (310 miles), the Taurus missile system is designed to penetrate fortified positions, making it a potentially game-changing addition to Ukraine’s arsenal.
Nebenzia also accused Kyiv of ignoring the partial ceasefire agreement reached in mid-March during a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Trump.
He claimed Russia had honoured the accord while Ukraine had carried out more than 120 attacks, including on Russian power infrastructure.
“Ukraine did not apply the partial ceasefire regarding energy infrastructure. Therefore, talking about a ceasefire is unrealistic at this point,” he said.
Zelenskyy accuses China of arming Russia
Adding further tension, Zelenskyy accused China for the first time of providing weapons to Russia. Speaking in Kyiv, he alleged that Beijing was supplying artillery and manufacturing arms within Russian territory.
“We finally have information that China is supplying weapons to the Russian Federation,” he said, without specifying whether he meant shells, launchers, or both.
Beijing on Friday denied giving any party in the Ukraine war lethal weapons.
China has long maintained it is not a party to the conflict. Just last week, its Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it supported a peaceful resolution and rejected any claims of direct involvement.
Zelenskyy’s remarks also follow the capture of two Chinese nationals fighting for Russia, further straining already fraught relations between Kyiv and Beijing.
Ukraine also announced sanctions against three Chinese companies, expanding its blacklist as part of ongoing efforts to curb support for Russia’s war effort, according to a presidential decree published on Friday.
The decree, reported by Reuters, names Beijing Aviation and Aerospace Xianghui Technology Co. Ltd, Rui Jin Machinery Co. Ltd, and Zhongfu Shenying Carbon Fiber Xining Co. Ltd—all registered in China—as targets of the new restrictions. The companies were listed alongside several Russian firms.
The Ukrainian government has not publicly detailed the specific grounds for sanctioning the Chinese firms.
