Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy yesterday called for more sanctions against Russia as overnight strikes killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens more, days ahead of talks between US and Ukrainian negotiators aimed at securing a truce.
A Russian assault hit the center of Dobropillia in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region late on Friday, killing 11 people and wounding 30, emergency services said.
Separately, three people were killed and seven were wounded in a drone attack early yesterday in Bogodukhiv, Kharkiv Governor Oleg Synegubov said.
Photo: AFP
Russia fired two missiles and 145 drones at Bogodukhiv, the Ukrainian Air Force said.
The overnight air raids came after US President Donald Trump threatened new sanctions and tariffs on Russia, but said it might be “easier” to work with Moscow than Kyiv on efforts to end the three-year-long war.
“Such strikes show that Russia’s goals are unchanged. Therefore, it is very important to continue to do everything to protect life, strengthen our air defence, and increase sanctions against Russia,” Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram.
In Dobropillia, there were charred residential buildings, flattened market stalls and evidence of cluster bomb damage.
Irina Kostenko, 59, spent the night cowering in her hallway with her husband. When she left the apartment building yesterday, she saw a neighbor “lying dead on the ground, covered with a blanket.”
“It was shocking, I don’t have the words to describe it,” Kostenko said.
Zelenskiy said that Russia had struck Dobropillia, waited until rescuers arrived and then “deliberately” targeted them as well.
“This is a despicable and inhumane tactic of intimidation that the Russians often use,” he said.
US and Ukrainian negotiators are due to meet in Saudi Arabia next week with bilateral relations frayed.
Trump publicly berated Zelenskiy during a White House meeting and suspended US aid to Kyiv in a stated bid to encourage diplomacy.
“I’m finding it more difficult frankly to deal with Ukraine and they don’t have the cards,” Trump said on Friday. “It may be easier dealing with Russia.”
The remarks followed Trump on Friday threatening new sanctions and tariffs on Russia over its bombardments of Ukraine.
“To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late,” he added.
Zelenskiy is due to land in Saudi Arabia tomorrow for talks with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
The meeting is a day before Ukrainian officials are expected to hold fresh talks with their US counterparts there.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said its air defense systems destroyed 31 Ukrainian drones over the past night.
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
PERSONAL DATA: The implicated KMT members allegedly compiled their petitions by copying names from party lists without the consent of the people concerned Judicial authorities searched six locations yesterday and questioned six people, including one elderly Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) member and five KMT Youth League associates, about alleged signature forgery and fraud relating to their recall efforts against two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. After launching a probe into alleged signature forgery and related fraud in the KMT’s recall effort, prosecutors received a number of complaints, including about one petition that had 1,748 signatures of voters whose family members said they had already passed away, and also voters who said they did not approve the use of their name, Taipei Deputy Chief Prosecutor
RSS