Casualties in Russian strikes targeting the Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk

At least 19 people were killed and around 300 others wounded in Russian shelling of the Dnipropetrovsk region in central-eastern Ukraine on Tuesday, Ukrainian authorities said, as Kyiv denounced Moscow’s “message of terrorism”.

These attacks come after a massive Russian offensive on Kyiv on Sunday night, ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague.

Upon his arrival in the Netherlands for the summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Zelensky hopes to secure new pledges of aid from Kyiv’s allies, more than three years after the start of the Russian war in Ukraine.

On the ground, Russian forces continue to advance in eastern Ukraine, where bombing operations are intensifying.

The Ukrainian National Police reported that on Tuesday, the Russian military attacked the cities of Dnipro and Samar with missiles, destroying an administrative building in Dnipro.

Local administration head Sergei Lysak confirmed Tuesday evening that the death toll in Dnipro had risen to 17 and 279 injured.

Two people were killed in Samar and 14 others were injured, according to the same source.

“Putin is destroying lives… That’s his definition of control,” Zelensky said Tuesday evening on X, denouncing the killing of people, the destruction of homes, and the practice of extortion.

Zelensky called for “forcing Russia to peace” and implementing a policy of isolation and maximum sanctions against Moscow.

Authorities confirmed that the strikes damaged schools, health facilities, and a train, injuring passengers.

“In terms of damage, it’s probably one of the biggest strikes on Dnipro” since the start of the Russian invasion on February 22, 2022, Mayor Boris Filatov said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also quickly denounced the “message of terrorism and rejection of peace” sent by Moscow after its army launched a ground attack on the Dnipropetrovsk region two weeks ago, the first since the Russian invasion began in 2022.

As Zelensky meets with NATO leaders in the Netherlands on Tuesday, including US President Donald Trump, Sybiha said that the credibility of the allies requires increasing pressure on Moscow.

The NATO summit is scheduled to approve a significant increase in security spending by member states.

A meeting between Zelensky and Trump is also expected on Wednesday, according to a senior Ukrainian official, while the US president has said he is likely to meet his Ukrainian counterpart.

Since entering the White House, Trump has pushed for a cessation of hostilities between Kyiv and Moscow, but his personal focus on the Ukrainian issue has failed to bring about a rapprochement between the two sides.

To achieve his goal, Donald Trump resumed communication with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and adopted the Kremlin’s rhetoric on the origins of the war, angering Kyiv and its allies.

Ukraine demands a complete withdrawal of Russian forces from its territory, as well as concrete security guarantees backed by the West, such as NATO protection or the presence of Western forces on the ground, which Moscow categorically rejects.

Moscow currently occupies approximately 20% of Ukraine’s territory after announcing the annexation of four Ukrainian regions, in addition to the Crimean Peninsula, which it invaded in 2014.

Russia is demanding that Ukraine relinquish the territories it has annexed and withdraw from NATO, demands that Zelensky considers unacceptable.

Putin continues to cling to his maximalist demands, and last weekend he denied Ukrainian sovereignty, saying, “I consider the Russian and Ukrainian peoples to be one people… In this sense, all of Ukraine belongs to us”.

On Sunday night, at least ten people were killed in massive Russian bombing operations targeting the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv and the surrounding area, a week after an attack that killed at least 28 people.

In response, Ukraine is attempting to launch strikes deep inside Russia, particularly with the aim of disrupting Moscow’s military logistical operations.