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US President Donald Trump, left, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on June 16, 2025 [Reuters]<\/p>\nWaves of Russian missile and drone strikes have killed at least 15 people and injured 116 others, with most of the casualties in Kyiv, Ukrainian officials have reported.<\/p>\n
The massive aerial assault overnight into Tuesday struck 27 locations in the Ukrainian capital, damaging residential buildings and critical infrastructure, according to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian officials were quick to call for international attention on the attacks as Kyiv pushes diplomatic efforts to raise pressure on Moscow to agree a ceasefire.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, the enemy spared neither drones nor missiles,\u201d Klymenko\u00a0said, describing the attack as one of the largest against Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.<\/p>\n
Thirty apartments were destroyed in a single residential block, and emergency services were searching through the rubble for possible survivors, Klymenko added.<\/p>\n
People were injured in Kyiv\u2019s Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi districts, and fires broke out in two other parts of the city, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.<\/p>\n
\u2018Total disrespect\u2019<\/p>\n
Klitschko also noted that a United States citizen died from shrapnel wounds.<\/p>\n
The Russian strikes, which lasted throughout the night, came as world leaders met in Canada for the Group of Seven (G7) summit.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to attend the talks on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump, left, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on June 16, 2025 [Reuters]<\/p>\n
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha suggested the \u201cmassive and brutal strike\u201d against Kyiv was deliberately timed, in particular painting it as an insult to US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cPutin does this on purpose, just during the G7 summit. He sends a signal of total disrespect to the United States and other partners who have called for an end to the killing,\u201d he wrote on social media.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy is seeking to persuade Trump to\u00a0extend support to Ukraine and put additional pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree a ceasefire.<\/p>\n
Sybiha suggested the Russian president wanted to make G7 leaders \u201cappear weak\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly strong steps and real pressure on Moscow can prove him wrong,\u201d the diplomat added.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy called the overnight strikes \u201cone of the most horrific attacks\u201d carried out by Moscow and declared that Putin \u201cdoes this solely because he can afford to continue the war\u201d.<\/p>\n
Little progress<\/p>\n
Pressed by Trump, Russia and Ukraine have held two rounds of direct talks over a truce but have made little progress with the exception of agreeing prisoner exchanges and the return of bodies<\/a>.<\/p>\n