At least 20 civilians were killed and over 100 others injured on Tuesday after a wave of Russian air strikes hit southeastern and northeastern Ukraine, including hospitals, schools, homes, and a passenger train, Ukrainian authorities reported.
The deadliest assault occurred in the Dnipropetrovsk region, where 17 people were killed and dozens more wounded. The strikes took place during daylight hours, a rare move by Russia, and coincided with President Volodymyr Zelensky’s arrival at a NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands.
Emergency services released disturbing images of bloodied civilians and shattered infrastructure, including a passenger train en route from Odesa to Zaporizhzhia, which sustained damage from a nearby missile blast.
Although no fatalities occurred on the train, dramatic footage captured the moment of impact, showing passengers screaming and covered in blood.
“This is not a fight where it’s hard to choose a side,” Zelensky said in a social media post from the summit. “Standing with Ukraine means defending life. I am grateful to everyone who is helping.” He accused Russian forces of a “complete disregard for life” in their continued targeting of civilian areas.
Three more people were killed in the northeastern Sumy region, including a five-year-old boy, following separate drone strikes. Local officials said multiple homes were destroyed in the small town of Bilopillia, where residents were asleep at the time of the attack.
“The strike took the lives of people from different families. They all lived on the same street,” said Oleh Hryhorov, head of Sumy’s military administration. “They went to sleep in their homes, but the Russian drones interrupted their sleep — forever.”
Two additional deaths were reported in the town of Samar, near Dnipro, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Services.
Tuesday’s coordinated attacks came just hours before President Zelensky was due to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit. The Ukrainian leader is expected to push for greater Western support, including air defense systems and harsher sanctions against Russia.
Kyiv officials say the timing of the strikes is no coincidence, accusing Moscow of deliberately sabotaging ongoing diplomatic efforts. “This is a message from the Kremlin — a brutal one — that it wants no peace,” one Ukrainian defense official told local media.
Russia has increased military pressure in Dnipropetrovsk in recent weeks, with reports of small units crossing into the industrial region and attempting to establish a foothold. Ukrainian military sources claimed Tuesday that their forces have managed to push back Russian troops near the border.
The attacks also follow a similar pattern seen last week during the G7 summit in Canada, when Russian missiles targeted Kyiv for nine consecutive hours, killing over 30 people across Ukraine just as Zelensky was preparing to meet international leaders.
Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have stalled since a limited agreement last month in Istanbul, which only resulted in the exchange of prisoners and the bodies of the dead. No new negotiations are currently scheduled.