Zelenskyy Slams Russia After Missile Strike Kills 18 in His Hometown

5 April,2025

A Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih on Friday killed 18 people, including nine children, Ukrainian authorities said.

A residential district near a playground was struck, injuring more than two dozen others, according to the head of the city's military administration, Oleksandr Vilkul.

Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was intentionally targeted, according to the president, who accused Russia of ignoring ceasefire agreements.

"Such attacks can't be random – the Russians perfectly well understand what they are targeting. They know that these are energy targets that are not supposed to be attacked according to what Russia committed to the United States. All Russian promises end with missiles, drones, bombs, or shells. Diplomacy is nothing to them," Zelenskyy wrote on X.

Russia's defense ministry confirmed the attack, stating it was a "precision strike with a high-explosive missile at a restaurant" in the city where military commanders and Western trainers were present.

Social media videos purported to show bodies on the ground and smoke billowing from the blast, but these have not been confirmed.

Dnipropetrovsk regional governor Sergiy Lysak condemned the attack.

"Eighteen. that is how many were killed by the Russians after they launched a missile at Kryvyi Rih. Nine of them were children," Lysak posted on Telegram.

"This is a torment no one deserves," he said. Lysak reported 61 injuries, including 12 children.

President Zelenskyy stated the attack proves Russia has no intention of ending its full-scale invasion, ongoing since February 2022.

"The only reason this continues to happen is that Russia does not want a ceasefire, and we can see it. The whole world can see it," he said.

During his evening address, Zelenskyy accused Russia of acting as if diplomacy is nothing.

"A ceasefire could already have been realized, but Putin is the one who does not want it," he said. 

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said that five residential buildings had been damaged from the missile strike.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has allegedly rejected a joint US and Ukrainian offer of unconditional and total ceasefire in March. Any potential truce in the Black Sea has also been made by the Kremlin contingent on the West removing some sanctions.

US President Donald Trump has been demanding a rapid conclusion to the war since January when he became president, but his government has not yet managed to obtain a ceasefire, although negotiations with both sides have been held.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told earlier on Friday that Trump would not fall into "endless negotiations" with Russia over the invasion.

"We will see soon, within weeks, not months, whether or not Russia is serious about peace," Rubio said.