logo
At least 20 killed, 300 hurt after Russia bombards Ukrainian heartland

At least 20 killed, 300 hurt after Russia bombards Ukrainian heartland

Miami Herald25-06-2025
June 25 (UPI) -- At least 20 people were killed and up to 300 injured in a massive Russian airborne assault on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro in the country's industrial heartland, authorities said Wednesday.
Dnipropetrovsk Gov. Serhii Lysak said in a social media update that the strikes during the daytime on Tuesday killed 18 people in Dnipro and two in a separate attack on Samar, 10 miles away to the northeast, with nearly 300 people injured across the province.
'The entire Dnipropetrovsk region is in mourning. This is a pain that resonates in every heart. That never goes away,' Lysak wrote.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in The Hague meeting with European heads of government at an annual gathering of NATO, said many of the injured were passengers on a train.
'This strike hit numerous civilian infrastructure: homes, schools, and even a regular passenger train. There were more than 500 passengers on board. Five train cars were destroyed. There were no fatalities. All the injured have received medical assistance. It was another Russian strike on life,' he said in a post on X.
State-run Ukrainian Railways confirmed a missile struck near one of its trains en route from Odessa to Zaporizhzhia as it was passing through Dnipro and that dozens of passengers had been injured by flying glass.
The company said emergency workers moved passengers who were unhurt to the nearest subway station, from where they were able to make their way into Dnipro to catch a replacement train service to continue their journey to Zaporizhzhia, if they so wished.
Dnipropetrovsk is Zelensky's home province.
The attacks mirrored a deadly wave of airstrikes on Kyiv last week that coincided with a meeting of the G7 group of countries in Canada. The group was formally the G8 -- until Russia was ejected in 2014 over its invasion and annexation of Crimea.
Elsewhere, one person was killed and 10 injured in Kharkiv city and Kupiansk and surrounding areas after residences and other civilian infrastructure were targeted by Russian attack drones and warplanes launching air-to-surface rockets and glide bombs.
In the neighboring part-Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia province, which lies to the south of Dnipro, five people were injured after Russian forces carried out missile, drone and airstrikes on more than a dozen towns and opened fire with artillery.
Three people were killed near the frontline in Donetsk, according to Gov. Vadym Filashkin, less than 100 miles east of Dnipro, where Ukrainian forces are battling to hold off a Russian advance poised to break through to the west into Ukraine's industrial heartland.
Earlier this month, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Russian troops and units of its 90th Guards Tank Division had penetrated into Dnipropetrovsk without resistance and were pushing forward.
Ukraine rejected the claim outright as fake news, but Emil Kastehelmi, an analyst at the Finland-based Black Bird Group, told the Kyiv Independent that geolocation data indicated an incursion by Russian troops had occurred.
Kastehelmi said that while he thought Russian forces would push on 'at least somewhat' further west over the summer, he didn't expect it to have much impact on the net state of play across the frontline.
Other military experts agreed.
They said the southeastern region of Ukraine would ultimately be penetrated by Russian forces, but only to a degree, as Moscow's overarching goal was to capture the remaining areas of Donetsk it does not already control, and therefore neither side was likely to divert significant forces to the theater.
Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

EU's Von der Leyen to Meet Trump in Bid to Clinch Trade Deal
EU's Von der Leyen to Meet Trump in Bid to Clinch Trade Deal

Yahoo

time23 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

EU's Von der Leyen to Meet Trump in Bid to Clinch Trade Deal

(Bloomberg) -- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she will travel to Scotland this weekend to meet with US President Donald Trump, as the two sides aim to conclude a trade deal ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline when 30% tariffs on the bloc's exports are otherwise due to kick in. Trump Awards $1.26 Billion Contract to Build Biggest Immigrant Detention Center in US The High Costs of Trump's 'Big Beautiful' New Car Loan Deduction Can This Bridge Ease the Troubled US-Canadian Relationship? Salt Lake City Turns Winter Olympic Bid Into Statewide Bond Boom Trump Administration Sues NYC Over Sanctuary City Policy After months of talks and shuttle diplomacy between Brussels and Washington DC, the two sides have been zeroing in on an agreement this past week that would see the EU face 15% tariffs on most of its trade. Limited exemptions are expected for aviation, some medical devices and generic medicines, several spirits, and a specific set of manufacturing equipment that the US needs, Bloomberg previously reported. Steel and aluminum imports would likely benefit from a quota under the arrangements under discussion but above that threshold they would face a higher tariff of 50%. 'We'll see if we make a deal,' Trump said as he arrived in Scotland on Friday. 'Ursula will be here, highly respected woman. So we look forward to that.' Trump reiterated that he believed there was 'a 50-50 chance' of a deal with the EU, saying there were sticking points on 'maybe 20 different things' that he did not want to detail publicly. Trump gave similar odds in Washington before leaving, but also said the EU had a 'pretty good chance' of reaching an agreement. Trump announced tariffs on almost all US trading partners in April, declaring his intent to bring back domestic manufacturing, to pay for a massive tax-cut extension and to stop the rest of the world from taking advantage of the US. He has also sought to remove what he describes as barriers for American companies to do business around the world. Alongside a universal levy, the US president has hit cars and auto parts with a 25% levy, and steel and aluminum with double that. He's also threatened to target pharmaceuticals and semiconductors with new duties as early as next month, and recently announced a 50% tariff on copper. The EU has been seeking quotas and a ceiling on future sectoral tariffs that the US has yet to implement but it's unclear if an initial agreement will shield the bloc from potential future levies at this stage. The agreement would also cover non-tariff barriers, cooperation on economic security matters and strategic purchases by the EU in sectors such as energy and artificial intelligence. The terms of any initial deal, which is expected to take the form of a short joint statement, would need to be approved by member states, according to people familiar with the matter. The statement is seen as a stepping stone toward more detailed negotiations. Because of the ongoing uncertainty, the EU has in parallel put together countermeasures in the event of a no-deal scenario, which would see it quickly hit American exports with up to 30% tariffs on some €100 billion ($117 billion) worth of goods — including Boeing Co. aircraft, US-made cars and bourbon whiskey — in the event of no-deal and if Trump carries through with his threat to impose that rate on most of the bloc's exports after Aug. 1 or in future. The package also includes some export restrictions on scrap metals. In a no-deal scenario, the bloc is also prepared to move forward with its anti-coercion instrument, a potent trade tool that would eventually allow it to also target other areas such as market access, services and restrictions on public contracts, provided that there is a majority of member states backing its use. (Updates with Trump remarks in paragraphs 4-6.) Burning Man Is Burning Through Cash Confessions of a Laptop Farmer: How an American Helped North Korea's Wild Remote Worker Scheme It's Not Just Tokyo and Kyoto: Tourists Descend on Rural Japan Elon Musk's Empire Is Creaking Under the Strain of Elon Musk A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China's Border ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.

‘Pod Save America' on Gabbard's Obama allegations: ‘Crock of s—‘
‘Pod Save America' on Gabbard's Obama allegations: ‘Crock of s—‘

The Hill

time24 minutes ago

  • The Hill

‘Pod Save America' on Gabbard's Obama allegations: ‘Crock of s—‘

'Pod Save America' host Dan Pfeiffer railed against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's accusations that the Obama administration led a 'treasonous coup' over the 2016 election. 'I don't think we should call this a scandal,' said Pfeiffer, a former adviser to President Obama, in a Friday episode of the podcast. 'Like I don't know what else to call it, a crock of s—' 'They can't even explain the allegation. It makes no sense,' he continued. 'This is the most easily debunked thing in the world.' Last week, Gabbard released a report claiming that the Obama administration manipulated intelligence to create a false narrative that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Gabbard then doubled down on the accusation and unsealed a formerly-classified House Intelligence Committee report on Wednesday that cast doubts on the European country's interest in the 2016 election and his desire to aid President Trump. She called the Obama administration's reported actions 'the most egregious weaponization and politicization of intelligence in American history.' Several intelligence reviews have concluded that Russia sought to influence the contest and that President Vladimir Putin favored Trump in the election. Gabbard, at a White House press briefing on Wednesday, claimed that the evidence pointed to Obama as the main instigator of the efforts and said she was looking into possible criminal implications. President Trump backed Gabbard, calling the intelligence assessment 'irrefutable proof that Obama was seditious.' 'I guess the crime is the creating a false narrative,' co-host Jon Favreau, former Obama speechwriter, said on the Friday episode. 'I didn't think a false narrative could be a coup.' The podcast hosts join fellow Democrats in criticizing Gabbard, particularly as fervor grows surrounding the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, which Democrats — and even some Republicans — have called to be released. 'It seems as though the Trump administration is willing to declassify anything and everything except the Epstein files,' said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, in a statement. Favreau, on Friday's episode, pondered whether the the administration can 'will this scandal in to existence by repeating 'treasonous coup' over and over again.' .

Maxwell attorney says he hasn't spoken about pardon with Trump team
Maxwell attorney says he hasn't spoken about pardon with Trump team

The Hill

time24 minutes ago

  • The Hill

Maxwell attorney says he hasn't spoken about pardon with Trump team

An attorney for Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex offender and associate of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, said he has not talked to President Trump's team about a potential pardon. 'We're going to take one day at a time. I know that's very cliche, but it's true, because things are happening so quickly,' Maxwell's attorney David Oscar Markus told reporters on Friday after he and Maxwell met for the second day in a row with Justice Department officials. 'We haven't spoken to the president or anybody about a pardon just yet,' he added. 'And listen, the president this morning said he had the power to do so. We hope he exercises that power in the right and just way.' Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke with Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, in Tallahassee, Fla. The first meeting, which lasted for over five hours, was on Thursday. Oscar Markus, the lawyer, said earlier on Friday that Maxwell completed a 'thorough, comprehensive' interview with Blanche. 'No person and no topic were off-limits. We are very grateful. The truth will come out,' the attorney said in a statement. Blanche has not commented about the Friday meeting with Maxwell. Trump said on Friday morning that he has not thought about pardoning Maxwell, who is currently appealing her case to the Supreme Court. 'It's something I haven't thought about it. I'm allowed to do it, but it's something I have not thought about,' the president said. 'I certainly can't talk about pardons,' he later added. Blanche's second day of interviews with Maxwell comes as the administration has faced immense pressure from Trump's base and political opponents to release more documents regarding Epstein's case. The president suggested that the media turn its sights on others, including former President Clinton, who have been linked to Epstein as well as former President Obama, who has made the news in recent days after the administration's release of intelligence relating to Russian interference in the 2016 election. 'And people should really focus on how well the country's doing, or they should focus on the fact that Barack Hussein Obama led a coup, or they should focus on the fact that [former Treasury Secretary] Larry Summers from Harvard, that [former President] Bill Clinton, who you know very well, and lots of other friends, really close friends of Jeffrey [Epstein] should be spoken about,' Trump said. 'They don't talk about them, they talk about me,' he added. 'I have nothing to do with the guy.' Trump also insisted that he had never gone to Epstein's private island. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 in jail while awaiting trail, the medical examiner at the time found. The cause of his death was reaffirmed in a joing FBI and DOJ memo from earlier this month, which also added that the disgraced financier did not keep a so-called 'client list.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store