Ukraine pounded by hundreds of Russian bombs overnight, killing at least 8 civilians
7 A residential building burns following a Russian air attack on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa in the south.
AP
7 Five people were rescued from a high-rise set on fire in Odesa.
AP
In the Black Sea port city of Odesa, Russian troops launched more than 20 drones and a missile, according to local officials, striking residential buildings and other infrastructure, killing at least one civilian.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the situation continues to remain 'difficult' along the border — particularly in the areas of the Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
'The Russian army continues to torment our people in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, attacking civilians with various types of drones,' Zelensky wrote on X.
Flames badly engulfed one apartment building in Odesa, after a strike set fire to the top four floors of the nine-story structure, the state emergency service said.
Emergency crews pulled people from the burning apartments, but one of the women rescued died, local authorities said.
7 A damaged apartment in a residential building following the Russian attack in Odesa.
AFP via Getty Images
Six others were wounded, including a child.
The attack left behind charred rubble — as children's clothes and the wreckage of furniture were seen piled up in destroyed apartments.
The onslaught came just as President Trump issued Russian strongman Vladimir Putin a 50-day ultimatum this week to agree to a peace deal.
In Pokrovsk — a key battleground city on the eastern front's Donetsk region — five people were killed and nine more injured over the past day, the region's governor said.
The Ukrainian 'fortress city' has come under heavy Russian attack recently, after holding strong for much of the year.
7 Russia gave Ukraine the bodies of 1,000 killed soldiers this week as part of a deal reached during peace talks last month.
Telegram / @vr_medinskiy/AFP via Getty Images
Two more civilians were killed overnight, one in Kherson and another in Zaporizhzhia, according to local authorities.
7 An attack on a shopping mall Wednesday killed two civilians.
Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
The prolific attacks continued an increasing escalation of Russian strikes, including one that obliterated a Ukrainian shopping center earlier in the week killing at least two and injured 27 others in Dobropillia.
More than 50 shops and 300 apartments were damaged Wednesday as a result of the massive strike with a 1,100-pound air bomb.
The damaging display came on the last day of US special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg's three-day visit to Kyiv to discuss relations with Zelensky.
7 Zelensky said the meeting with Kellogg was productive.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Off/UPI/Shutterstock
The Ukrainian leader called it a 'productive conversation.'
'We discussed the path to peace and what we can practically do together to bring it closer. This includes strengthening Ukraine's air defense, joint production, and procurement of defense weapons in collaboration with Europe. And of course, sanctions against Russia and those who help it,' he wrote on X.
7 Zelensky said Russia fired off more than 300 drones and at least 30 cruise missiles overnight.
ZUMAPRESS.com
This week also saw the latest soldier swap between the warring countries – the bodies of 1,000 Ukrainians were exchanged for 19 slain Russians.
The prisoner exchange was the fourth between Kyiv and Moscow since an agreement was brokered during talks in Istanbul in June.
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