Kyiv Mourns After Russian Attack       08/01 06:21

   

   KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- The Ukrainian capital Kyiv observed an official day of 
mourning Friday, a day after a Russian drone and missile attack on the city 
killed 31 people, including five children, and injured more than 150, officials 
said.

   The youngest victim in Thursday's strikes was 2 years old, and 16 of the 
injured were children, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

   It was the highest number of children killed and injured in a single attack 
on Kyiv since aerial attacks on the city began in October 2022, according to 
official casualty figures reported by The Associated Press.

   The death toll rose overnight as emergency crews continued to dig through 
rubble. The Russian barrage demolished a large part of a nine-story residential 
building in the city, while more than 100 other buildings were damaged, 
including homes, schools, kindergartens, medical facilities and universities, 
officials said.

   Russia has escalated its attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent months, 
ignoring calls from Western leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump to 
stop striking civilian areas after more than three years of war.

   Russian forces are also pressing on with their grinding war of attrition 
along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where incremental gains over 
the past year have cost the lives of thousands of soldiers on both sides.

   Ukraine wants more sanctions on Russia

   Zelenskyy said that in July, Russia launched over 5,100 glide bombs, more 
than 3,800 Shahed drones, and nearly 260 missiles of various types, 128 of them 
ballistic, against Ukraine.

   He repeated his appeal for countries to impose heavier economic sanctions on 
Russia to deter the Kremlin, as U.S.-led peace efforts have failed to gain 
traction.

   "No matter how much the Kremlin denies (sanctions') effectiveness, they are 
working and must be stronger," Zelenskyy said.

   His comments Friday appeared to be a response to Trump's remarks the 
previous day, when the Republican president said the U.S. plans to impose 
sanctions on Russia but added, "I don't know that sanctions bother him," in 
reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

   Ukraine also called for an urgent U.N. Security Council meeting to be 
convened Friday, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, in an effort to push 
Putin into accepting "a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire."

   Russian forces bear down on a key eastern Ukrainian city

   Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces are under heavy pressure in the strategic 
hilltop city of Chasiv Yar, in the eastern Donetsk region where Russia is 
making a concerted push to break through defenses after some 18 months of 
fighting.

   Zelenskyy said that Russian claims of capturing Chasiv Yar on Thursday were 
"disinformation."

   "Ukrainian units are holding our positions," Zelenskyy said in his daily 
video address on Thursday evening. "It is not easy, but it is the defense of 
Ukrainians' very right to life."

   Even so, the Institute for the Study of War said that Ukraine's hold on the 
key city is weakening.

   "Russian forces will likely complete the seizure of Chasiv Yar in the coming 
days, which will open several possible avenues for Russian forces to attack 
Ukraine's fortress belt -- a series of fortified cities that form the backbone 
of Ukraine's defensive positions" in the Donetsk region, the Washington-based 
think tank said.

   Ukraine has tried to pressure the Russian army by striking rear areas with 
long-range drones that target rail networks, oil depots and arsenals.

   Russia's Defense Ministry said Friday that air defenses shot down 60 
Ukrainian drones overnight. More than half were destroyed over Russia's 
Belgorod region on the country's border with Ukraine, it said. Belgorod Gov. 
Vyacheslav Gladkov said that one person was injured.