Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the United States of being unwilling to help Ukraine after Russian strikes killed 78 people and wounded 215 across the country in two days, urging President Donald Trump to increase military support and sanctions against Moscow.
The attacks included a devastating strike on the eastern city of Kramatorsk, where at least 35 people were killed and 20 wounded, according to Ukrainian officials.
The bombardment followed a major Russian drone and missile assault a day earlier that killed dozens, including 22 people in a residential building in Pryluky, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) east of Kyiv.
Speaking to reporters Thursday in Pryluky, Zelenskyy criticized Washington for pursuing potential economic cooperation with Russia while attempting to mediate the war, now in its fifth year.
He also called on the United States to expand Ukraine's access to the Starlink satellite communications network, saying it could help Ukrainian forces identify and target Russian ballistic missile launchers.
"Open Starlink for Ukraine. You did open it when you were responding to Iran," Zelenskyy said. "Give it to us, help us defend our skies and dominate there. And then Putin will sit down at the negotiating table."
The Ukrainian leader questioned U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's assessment earlier Thursday that the war had reached a stalemate and Washington would continue working toward a settlement.
Zelenskyy argued that Washington's pursuit of economic projects with Moscow contradicted claims that diplomatic progress had stalled.
"So where's the truth here, where's the honesty? Where's the stalemate? ... That's called unwillingness," he said.
"One cannot, on the one hand, negotiate with the Russians about future economic projects, whilst on the other hand say that we find ourselves in some sort of ... diplomatic stalemate," he added.
His remarks followed a Reuters report that senior Russian and U.S. officials, including U.S. Special Envoy Jared Kushner, had discussed bringing an American investor into the Nord Stream pipeline network, which transported Russian natural gas to Germany before Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Zelenskyy urged Trump to increase sanctions pressure on Russia, arguing that stronger support for Ukraine could help bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.
Ukrainian negotiators are scheduled to travel to the United States on Friday and Saturday for talks. Zelenskyy said he expected European partners to join the discussions, with air defense expected to be a key issue amid continued Russian attacks.
In Kramatorsk, a Russian guided aerial bomb struck the city Thursday, killing dozens and damaging two buses. A subsequent drone attack killed two more people, bringing the reported death toll to 35.
Regional Governor Vadym Filashkin accused Russian forces of deliberately targeting civilians.
"The Russians are deliberately targeting civilians. For them, a bus full of passengers is an attractive target precisely because a single strike can kill as many people as possible," he said on Telegram.
Images released by officials showed bodies scattered across a debris-covered street beside a charred bus. Some victims had not been identified, Zelenskyy said, warning that the attack would not go unanswered.
Elsewhere, a Russian guided aerial bomb killed two people in a village in southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, while another person died in the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk, local authorities said.
The latest bombardment followed Wednesday's attacks, which killed dozens across Ukraine, including 22 people in Pryluky.
Russia also attacked Kyiv on Thursday morning, killing four people and wounding 19, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
The strikes disrupted water and electricity supplies in parts of the capital, with officials warning that restoring services would take time.
Moscow has intensified drone attacks on Kyiv in recent weeks, targeting warehouses, data centers and other infrastructure while renewing its campaign against Ukraine's power grid ahead of winter.
Russian technology company Yandex said it could not yet determine whether equipment at a data center hit by a Ukrainian drone attack could be restored.
Zelenskyy did not specifically address the strike on Yandex but said Ukraine was mirroring Russian attacks on data centers.
Ukraine has sought to regain the battlefield initiative as Russian territorial advances have slowed this year. However, Moscow's sustained air campaign continues to threaten civilians, critical infrastructure and the country's energy security.
