Key Points and Summary – A massive Russian drone and missile attack has struck a civilian apartment building in Kyiv, injuring eight people, including a two-year-old child.
-The assault was so severe that it prompted Polish and NATO jets to scramble and saw one drone cross into Lithuanian airspace.
-The brutal attack on civilians infuriated U.S. President Donald Trump, who called Vladimir Putin’s actions “very disappointing.”
-In response, Trump immediately threatened to slash his 50-day ceasefire ultimatum for Russia down to just “10 or 12 days,” dramatically accelerating the timeline for potential new U.S. sanctions.
The Ukraine War Gets Worse by the Day
The latest major drone strike from Russia has struck eight people in Kyiv, all of them in a single apartment building in the Darnytskyi district, one of whom was a three-year-old child, Reuters reported Monday, citing Telegram posts by the head of Kyiv’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko.
Ukrainska Pravda, meanwhile, posted photos of the aftermath of the attack.
“The blast wave shattered the windows of a high-rise building from the fifth to the tenth floor, as a result of which five people suffered shrapnel wounds. Among those injured is a two-year-old girl who sustained cuts to her foot. They have been hospitalised,” the National Police of Ukraine said.
Several cars were damaged as well, the police said.
Pregnant in Kyiv
Meanwhile, Reuters reported on the plight of a 30-year-old woman named Bohdana Zhupanyna, who is pregnant and living in Kyiv. She recently “found herself sifting through the charred remains of her second-floor apartment in Kyiv.”
“I don’t know what kind of fate this is, why this happens, for what reason,” she told Reuters. She was not home at the time of the attack.
“This is confirmation that they’re attacking civilian places, specifically residential apartments,” Zhupanyna said of the attack on her home.
The Russians, she said, “have to stop killing us… As for Trump, I would like him to simply help more.”
Trump Doing More?
The U.S. president, in a visit to the U.K. over the weekend, commented on the Russian drone attacks, and indicated that he might be willing to adjust his previously announced 50-day deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine, at risk of suffering new secondary tariffs on countries that buy its oil.
“I’m disappointed in President Putin, very disappointed in him,” Trump told reporters in Scotland, as reported by ABC News. “So we’re going to have to look and I’m going to reduce that 50 days that I gave him to lesser number, because I think I already know the answer what’s going to happen.”
What will the new deadline be?
“I’m going to make a new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today,” Trump said. “I want to be generous, but we just don’t see any progress being made.”
The president’s comments came after Polish and NATO jets were scrambled in response to the latest Russian drone attack, which was accompanied by missiles. One drone even crossed into Lithuanian airspace, after it was routed through the sky above Russian-allied Belarus, the ABC report said.
In all, Russia lobbed 324 drones and seven missiles at Ukraine in the overnight attack, and Ukraine claims to have intercepted more than 300 of the drones and two of the missiles.
“This is how Putin responds to calls to end the war and sit at the negotiating table,” Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office said on Telegram, per ABC News. “Russian air attacks are still ongoing, with civilian infrastructure, homes, and people, including in Kyiv, already affected.”
The Latest Talks
Representatives from Russia and Ukraine met last week in Istanbul for talks. However, the talks did not report any progress in delivering a ceasefire or bringing an end to the long war.
Meanwhile, Per the Washington Post, Russia has ruled out a face-to-face meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy until the “final stage” of peace talks. Zelenskyy has been calling for such a meeting for much of the war.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the two sides remain “diametrically opposed,” and that it would require “extremely complex diplomatic work” for the two leaders to sit down by the end of August, ahead of Trump’s current deadline at the start of September.
About the Author:
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
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Jim
July 28, 2025 at 4:00 pm
Yes, Russia is pressing the attack in the air war and on the ground at the front. The Pokrovsk pocket is on the verge of falling to the Russians.
And, when this bulwark falls it opens the way to the West all the way to the Dnieper River, and cuts off significant logistical routs for Kiev to resupply their soldiers at the front.
The walls are closing in on Kiev. Protests in the streets of Kiev and other cities in Ukraine suggest exhaustion with the war… but all they can do is protest corruption… protest against the war under martial law and you go to jail.
More and more Russian drones & missiles are getting through and hitting their targets, a few go off target, that happens in war, it’s called collateral damage.
Trump sounds to be dumb as he threatens to move up his “bone crushing” sanctions (or is it Lindsey Graham running the show)… which will blowback on the U. S. as much or more than it will effect Russia.
Russia has been conducting an attrition strategy designed to collapse Kiev’s forces at the front… hasn’t happened yet… who knows if it ever will, but if it does…
It’s over for Kiev and its Banderite regime.
The closer to the last bunker (this fight has to go)… the less likely there will be a Ukraine left after all is said and done.
The Walls Are Closing In… on Kiev.
Get to Know it.