Zelenskiy accuses US of inaction as Russian strikes kill 78 in two days

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused the United States of being unwilling to help Ukraine after Russian strikes killed 78 people and wounded 215 over two days, in one of the deadliest stretches of the war this year.

Speaking on Thursday evening, Zelenskiy said a Russian bomb attack that tore through two buses in the eastern city of Kramatorsk was the latest assault on civilians. “This strike will not go unanswered,” he said. “Russia is trying to destroy all life in Donbas.”

Buses hit in Kramatorsk

The morning attack struck a street in Kramatorsk where two city buses were operating. Police said the buses were hit with a glide bomb. At least 30 people were confirmed dead, and the city toll rose to 35 after an evening drone attack killed two more. Another 18 were wounded, and residential buildings and cars were damaged.

Donetsk regional governor Vadym Filashkin accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians.

Kramatorsk is one of the key Donetsk cities still held by Ukraine and has served as a logistics hub for its military. Authorities have since suspended public transport in the city and neighbouring areas.

Pryluky building strike killed 22

The Kramatorsk attack came a day after a mass Russian drone and missile assault killed dozens across Ukraine. A cruise missile hit a residential building in the central town of Pryluky, around 130 kilometres east of Kyiv, killing 22 people, including five children.

Elsewhere on Thursday, a guided aerial bomb killed two people in a village in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, one person died in the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk, and four people were killed and 19 wounded in morning attacks on Kyiv, according to mayor Vitali Klitschko. Water and power supplies in the capital were disrupted.

Russia denies targeting civilians, though it has regularly struck Ukrainian cities, towns and infrastructure since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

“That’s called unwillingness”

Zelenskiy’s sharpest words were for Washington. Hours after the Kramatorsk strike, he criticised the United States for pursuing economic ties with Russia while also seeking to mediate the war.

“So where’s the truth here, where’s the honesty? Where’s the stalemate? … That’s called unwillingness,” he said, referring to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s assertion earlier on Thursday that the war is at a stalemate and that Washington would keep working toward a settlement.

“One cannot, on the one hand, negotiate with the Russians about future economic projects, whilst on the other hand say that we find ourselves in some sort of diplomatic stalemate,” Zelenskiy added.

Starlink plea as Zelenskiy accuses US of inaction

Speaking in Pryluky, Zelenskiy urged the US to expand Ukraine’s access to the Starlink satellite service so it can target Russian ballistic-missile launchers. “Open Starlink for Ukraine. You did open it when you were responding to Iran … give it to us, help us defend our skies and dominate there. And then Putin will sit down at the negotiating table,” he said.

Ukrainian negotiators are due in the US on Friday and Saturday for talks, Zelenskiy said, urging President Donald Trump to increase sanctions pressure on Russia. He added that European partners were expected to join and that air defences would be raised given the near-constant Russian attacks.

The criticism follows reports that Russian and US officials, including US special envoy Jared Kushner, have discussed bringing an American investor into the Nord Stream pipelines that carried Russian gas to Germany before the invasion.

How many people were killed in the two days of strikes?

Zelenskiy said 78 people were killed and 215 wounded across Ukraine over two days, including 35 in Kramatorsk and 22 in a Pryluky residential building.

Why is Zelenskiy criticising the US?

He accused Washington of unwillingness to help, saying it cannot pursue economic projects with Russia while claiming a diplomatic stalemate. He wants expanded Starlink access and tougher sanctions on Moscow.

What happens next?

Ukrainian negotiators head to the US on Friday and Saturday for talks, with European partners expected to join. Zelenskiy said air defences would be high on the agenda as Russian strikes on cities and the power grid continue ahead of winter.