Russian drone strike kills 7 in Kharkiv ahead of Trump-Zelenskyy White House meeting

At least seven people, including two children, were killed after a Russian drone strike hit an apartment building in Kharkiv on Sunday night. Local police confirmed that five Iranian-made Shahed drones struck the building at dawn, killing entire families in their homes.

Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched 140 drones and four missiles overnight across multiple regions, including Donetsk, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and Kyiv. While most were intercepted, dozens of strikes still hit residential areas. In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, at least three more people were killed and 23 injured.

The attack came just hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s scheduled meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders in Washington. Zelenskyy accused Moscow of deliberately targeting civilians to undermine ongoing diplomatic efforts, calling the strike “demonstrative and cynical.” His chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, added that Russia continues to kill civilians while “talking about peace.”

The drone assault underscores the scale of Moscow’s ongoing long-range strikes. In July alone, Russia launched a record 6,443 drones and missiles into Ukraine, making it the deadliest month for civilians since May 2022. Despite recent diplomatic pushes, both sides have escalated their aerial campaigns, leaving civilians caught in the crossfire.