Russian forces carried out overnight airstrikes using glide bombs and drones on Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, hitting a hospital and injuring seven people, local officials said Tuesday.
Regional head Oleh Syniehubov said the city’s main hospital was struck, forcing the evacuation of 50 patients. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said energy facilities were also among the main targets of the attack.
“Every day and night, Russia strikes power plants, power lines, and gas facilities,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram, calling for more Western air defense systems to shield Ukraine’s vast territory.
Zelenskyy urged the U.S., Europe, and G7 nations to “force Moscow to negotiate” and help protect civilians from Moscow’s long-range assaults, which have repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s power grid since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
However, European military support for Kyiv has dropped sharply. The Kiel Institute in Germany reported that aid in July and August fell 43% from the first half of the year, following the launch of a NATO fund to buy U.S. weapons for Ukraine under the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL).
Zelenskyy is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Friday to discuss the possible supply of Tomahawk cruise missiles—long-range weapons that could hit deep inside Russia and potentially shift the dynamics of the war.