‘I heard the explosion, ran outside, everything was on fire, many people were screaming’
Russian forces intensified attacks across Ukraine during Pope Francis’s funeral, killing civilians—including an 11-year-old girl—despite reported U.S. appeals for a ceasefire.
Russia launched drone strikes on at least six Ukrainian regions Friday, even as world leaders gathered in Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral. One attack destroyed a residential building in Kamianske, killing a man and injuring four, including a child. “I heard the explosion… The children were very scared,” a witness said. Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, was also hit, wounding a 14-year-old boy in what Kyiv condemns as deliberate terror tactics against civilians.
The assault continued as President Volodymyr Zelensky attended the Vatican service, where he planned peace talks with global leaders. Strikes also targeted Dnipro and Kropyvnytskyi, with video capturing a fireball explosion. The attacks came despite Donald Trump’s alleged appeal to Vladimir Putin to halt hostilities—a plea the Kremlin ignored.