Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least 14 people on Monday, authorities said, just hours before President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington for talks with US President Donald Trump.
In Kharkiv, a drone strike destroyed part of a five-storey apartment block, leaving several floors ablaze, regional governor Oleg Synegubov said. Rescuers pulled survivors from the rubble in scenes captured by emergency services footage. Interior Minister Igor Klymenko confirmed that seven civilians, including two children, were killed and 23 others injured.
The city, located near the Russian border, had already been struck earlier in the night by a ballistic missile that wounded at least 11 people, Mayor Igor Terekhov reported.
Elsewhere, three people were killed and 23 wounded in Zaporizhzhia region, while shelling in eastern Donetsk killed four civilians in the towns of Dobropillia and Kostiantynivka, according to prosecutors. In the south, drone strikes set fire to a fuel facility in Odesa region, governor Oleg Kiper said.
The latest wave of attacks came as Zelensky prepared for high-stakes talks in Washington, where the conflict and potential paths to peace are expected to dominate discussions. Trump, speaking ahead of the meeting, ruled out Ukraine reclaiming Crimea or joining NATO as part of any settlement — positions Kyiv has consistently rejected.
Russia, meanwhile, has pressed for Ukraine to withdraw from the Donbas in exchange for freezing frontlines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, where major cities remain under Kyiv’s control. The war, now in its fourth year, has seen Moscow gradually advance on the battlefield despite heavy losses.
