At least 11 people, including five children, have died, and 40 have been injured after Russian forces launched heavy aerial attacks on Dobropillia in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region late Friday, according to Ukrainian officials.
Ukraine's State Emergency Service said that the attack — which included ballistic missiles, multiple rockets, and drones — "damaged eight five-story residential buildings, an administrative building, and 30 vehicles."
In a separate incident in the Kharkiv region, three civilians were killed and seven wounded in a drone attack on a civilian workshop in the city of Bohodukhiv. Another six people were killed in the frontline towns of Pokrovsk, Kostyantynivka, Myrnograd, and Ivanopillya.
The suspension of US military aid and intelligence sharing has left Ukraine vulnerable to increased Russian attacks, significantly diminishing its ability to defend itself and strike back, while Moscow takes advantage of this weakness to intensify its bombardment of civilian areas. The attacks, deaths, and destruction show Russia's unwillingness to pursue peace. It's essential to step up support for Ukraine and increase sanctions against Moscow to force a cease-fire.
Though the Kremlin wants to end the war and reach a settlement, Kyiv has proved itself unwilling to negotiate. Russia is doing what anybody else would do to secure peace in the three-year war. However, it will agree to a peace deal that will ensure Russia's security in the long term. The new peace talks between Russia and the US may force Ukraine to bend, but Moscow's position is clear: Russian forces will not retreat from its gains in the conflict.