Russia carries out deadly attacks in Ukraine again

2025-07-12 16:56:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Russia again targeted Ukrainian cities on Saturday with a wave of drone and missile attacks, killing at least two people and wounding 10 others, Ukrainian officials said.

The new airstrikes came as US President Donald Trump warned he would make a "major statement" about Russia on July 14.

Since taking office, Trump has aimed to end the war launched by Moscow in February 2022.

Cities in western Ukraine have suffered the most from the wave of attacks of July 12.

The Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 319 of 597 drones and 26 of 27 missiles launched by Russian military forces.

A 26-year-old woman and a 43-year-old man were killed in attacks in Chernivtsi, near the border with Romania, the regional head of the military administration, Ruslan Zaparanyuk, announced in a post on Telegram.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that its attacks in Lviv, Lutsk, and Kharkiv targeted defense facilities.

Russia claims that it does not strike civilian targets, despite abundant data to the contrary.

Russia has escalated drone and missile attacks this year, as well as intensified its offensive on the front lines, despite losing a significant number of soldiers.

"The pace of Russian air strikes requires rapid responses and can only be combated through sanctions," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram on July 12.

"The war can only be stopped through force," Zelensky added, asking the West for more weapons for defense.

"We are not only expecting signals from our partners, but also actions that will save lives."

Trump has recently expressed anger at Putin, who has rejected his proposals for a 30-day ceasefire in the war.

Ukraine has agreed to a 30-day ceasefire, while Russia has had its own demands, which experts say only aim to drag out the talks while Russian forces carry out attacks.

Two rounds of Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul, on May 16 and June 2, have resulted in the exchange of prisoners and the bodies of soldiers killed in the war, but not in progress towards peace.

"We get hit with a lot of nonsense from Putin. He's very nice most of the time, but it doesn't make any sense," said Trump, who has spoken to Putin six times by phone since he was inaugurated as president on January 20.

Trump has said the United States will send weapons to Ukraine for defense "because Putin is not treating his people right."

Thus, Trump has reversed a Pentagon policy to no longer send weapons to Ukraine, following concerns about the amount of weapons reserves in the US.

Two days later, Trump told American broadcaster NBC that "the United States is sending weapons to NATO and NATO is paying for these weapons, so that NATO can then send these weapons to Ukraine."

The war in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin calls the war a "special military operation" to demilitarize Ukraine.

The West has responded to Russia by hitting the country's economy with harsh sanctions.

As a result of the war, thousands of people have died and millions more have been displaced from their homes./ CNA