Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Synehubov said on April 7 that three people had been killed by Russian artillery in the city of Balakliya in the region.
Inflicting heavy personnel losses has become a stated strategic objective of Ukraine. In January, then-Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Ukraine aimed to "kill 50,000 Russians per month," arguing that losses on that scale could undermine Moscow's ability to sustain the war.
Among those killed were a 16-year-old boy, as well as a 19-year-old woman, and a 51-year-old woman, authorities said, in a strike that landed near a grocery store as well as several residential buildings.
The European Union is set to disburse approximately 3 billion euros ($4.8 billion) of defense support to Ukraine this week as part of the bloc's 90 billion euro support loan ($100 billion) for Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 11.
Ukraine has no information about an energy ceasefire that U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Oct. 11, a senior Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent.
The attack was the latest in a series targeting the western Ukrainian city, with strikes reported on three days within a four-day period.
The reported pressure preceded President Donald Trump’s announcement on Oct. 11 that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to stop attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure.
"We all know that Trump often says things to keep oil prices from rising," Igor Ananskikh, first deputy chair of the committee, told Russian outlet Ostorozhno Novosti.
Ukraine's Presidential Office confirmed that the attack occurred after U.S. President Donald Trump announced an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
Throughout the day, journalists from the Kyiv Independent heard explosions in both downtown Kyiv and further out.
Zelensky said he told Trump's team, "please tell Putin, give us two months, 60 days off. Total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organize elections."
A press release from the defense ministry notes that its procurement agency has contracted for 5.5 times as many drones as in the same period of 2025, and that the volume of deliveries has increased by almost 3.7 times.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said "this week alone, the Russians have launched around 1,450 aerial bombs, 75 missiles of various types and over 1,640 attack drones, around 60% of which are jet-powered."
"These things are important now to put clearly on the record and, I believe, help voters in Germany and France understand that some of this politics is instigated via our enemies, namely Russia," media reports Burnham saying.
In this interview, the Kyiv Independent’s Kateryna Hodunova speaks with Pavlo Kazarin, a Ukrainian journalist, publicist and serviceman, about Ukraine’s mobilization crisis, draft evasion, soldiers going absent without leave (AWOL), and the growing divide between those serving and those remaining in civilian life.
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