At Least 16 Dead in Russian Strike on Zelensky’s Hometown, Ukraine Says

A Russian missile strike Friday on Kryvyi Rih, a city in central Ukraine, killed at least 16 people and wounded more than 50, local officials said. It was the latest in a series of Russian attacks on urban centers in recent days, despite ongoing cease-fire talks, that have caused significant civilian casualties.

Serhii Lysak, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk region, which includes Kryvyi Rih, said on social media that six children were among the dead. He said the missile struck a residential neighborhood, with a playground nearby. Other officials warned the death toll could rise as rescuers continued to search the rubble for victims.

Russia’s defense ministry acknowledged the missile strike on Kryvyi Rih on Friday. It claimed that the missile had targeted a restaurant where Ukrainian commanders and Western military instructors were meeting, killing a total of 85 servicemen.

Moscow has long claimed that it only aims at military targets, although direct Russian strikes on civilian areas and facilities have often been documented by journalists and independent organizations.

Friday’s attack came as Russia appeared to have ramped up its attacks on civilian areas in recent weeks. Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky, was also struck on Wednesday in an attack that killed four people. On Thursday, a Russian drone attack on the eastern city of Kharkiv also killed four people, according to the city’s mayor.

The number of civilian casualties could not be independently verified.

The unusually high toll on Friday comes as both countries have engaged in cease-fire negotiations partly aimed at reducing the war’s impact on civilians. Ukraine and Russia have so far committed to halting attacks on energy infrastructure and in the Black Sea, but these truces have yet to be implemented, with both sides accusing each other of violations.

The start of cease-fire negotiations in mid-February raised hopes that the fighting would ease, as both sides aimed to demonstrate to the United States, the mediator, that they were willing to engage and reach an accord. But the war has raged on unabated.

A series of Ukrainian cities, many of them far from the front lines, have suffered deadly strikes. A large Russian drone attack on Kyiv, the capital, killed three civilians late last month, hours before U.S.-mediated talks to discuss a partial cease-fire began in Saudi Arabia.

Ukraine, meanwhile, has also continued its assaults, including by launching drones inside Russia.

In a post on social media, Mr. Zelensky said Friday’s attack was proof that “Russia does not want a cease-fire, and we see it.”

His post included photos of the aftermath, showing bodies sprawled on the grass of what appeared to be a playground, some covered with rescue blankets. Around the playground, tree tops had been torn off and building windows shattered by the blast.

Mr. Zelensky echoed a widespread sentiment in Ukraine that the Kremlin has engaged in cease-fire negotiations as an empty show of good will to curry favor with the White House, but has no intention of halting the fighting.

Ukraine had initially agreed to a unconditional 30-day cease-fire to halt all fighting. But Russia rejected the proposal and instead suggested a more limited truce focused on the Black Sea and energy infrastructure, which Ukraine accepted last week.

Since then, both sides have accused each other of attacking their respective energy systems. Moscow has demanded the lifting of economic sanctions before a truce at sea takes effect, effectively freezing its implementation.

The Trump administration appears to have grown tired of the drawn-out cease-fire negotiations.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Brussels on Friday that Russia was running out of time to convince the Trump administration that it was serious about a peace deal with Ukraine.

“We’re testing to see if the Russians are interested in peace,” Mr. Rubio added. “Their actions — not their words, their actions — will determine whether they’re serious or not, and we intend to find that out sooner rather than later.”