A 15-year-old boy has been killed and the rest of his family injured in a Russian airstrike on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, local officials said Monday.
The teen and two others were wiped out in the shelling attack on the southeastern village of Novoyakovlivka on Sunday — just hours before President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were set to discuss a deal to end the deadly war.
Harrowing photos captured the boy’s lifeless body lying on the ground in the wake of the deadly blast.
His family’s home was obliterated in the attack, according to officials.
The boy’s 12-year-old brother, 8-year-old sister and both his parents were all wounded, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said.
Scores of others were also injured, he added.
It came as Russia struck the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv late Sunday, killing three people — including an innocent 2-year-old boy — and wounding 17 others.
Russian aerial attacks also targeted the northeastern Sumy region and the southern Odesa region.
“Russia is a murderous war machine that Ukraine is holding back. And it must be stopped through transatlantic unity and pressure,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X following the deadly onslaught.
The spate of deadly attacks unfolded just as Trump was preparing to sit down with Zelensky and other European leaders at the White House Monday morning to discuss the next steps in the three-and-a-half-year conflict.
“This was a demonstrative and cynical Russian strike. They are aware that a meeting is taking place today in Washington that will address the end of the war,” Zelensky wrote on X.
“Putin will commit demonstrative killings to maintain pressure on Ukraine and Europe, as well as to humiliate diplomatic efforts. That is precisely why we are seeking assistance to put an end to the killings.”
Meanwhile, Trump — who hosted President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday — claimed Zelensky could bring an end to the war “almost immediately” if he’s willing to give up his bid to join NATO and forget reclaiming Crimea.
“President Zelensky of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight. Remember how it started,” Trump wrote on Truth Social ahead of the high-stakes summit.
“No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!”
Months of US-led diplomatic efforts to end the fighting haven’t made headway, but the stakes have risen since Trump met with Putin last week.
The DC talks are expected to focus on a long-term deal to end the conflict rather than a cease-fire after Trump pivoted to a more permanent resolution.
Zelensky has already all but rejected the outline of Putin’s proposals from the Alaska meeting, including for Ukraine to give up the rest of its eastern Donetsk region, of which it currently controls a quarter.
He is also seeking an immediate cease-fire to conduct deeper peace talks.
Trump previously backed that but reversed course after the summit with Putin and indicated support for Russia’s favored approach of negotiating a comprehensive deal while fighting rumbles on.
With Post wires
