Kyiv, Apr 25 (AP) A Russian drone struck an apartment building in a southeastern Ukraine city, killing three people and injuring 10 others, officials said Friday, a day after US President Donald Trump rebuked Russia’s leader for a deadly missile and drone attack on Kyiv while Washington is endeavouring to stop the more than three-year war.

A child and a 76-year-old woman were among the civilians killed in the nighttime drone strike in Pavlohrad, in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, the head of the regional administration, Serhii Lysak, wrote on Telegram.

Russian forces fired 103 Shahed and decoy drones at five Ukrainian regions overnight, Ukraine’s air force reported. Authorities in the northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions reported damage to civilian infrastructure but no casualties.

The war could be approaching a pivotal moment as the Trump administration weighs its options. Senior US officials have warned that the administration could soon give up attempts to stop the war if the two sides do not come to an agreement.

That could potentially mean a halt of US military aid for Ukraine.

Amid the peace efforts, Russia pounded Kyiv in an hourslong barrage Thursday, killing at least 12 people and injuring 87 in its deadliest assault on the Ukrainian capital since July.

The attack drew a rare rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Putin from Trump, who has said that a push to end the war is coming to a head.

“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying.” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. “Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!” Trump’s frustration is growing as his effort to forge a deal between Ukraine and Russia has failed to achieve a breakthrough.

But Trump said in an interview with Time magazine published Friday that the US and Russia have “had very good talks, and we’re getting very close to a deal.” Trump envoy Steve Witkoff was expected to meet with Putin in Moscow on Friday, their second meeting this month and the fourth since February.

Addressing a key sticking point in the negotiations, Trump said “Crimea will stay with Russia” under a US-brokered settlement, according to the interview transcript.

The interview took place on Tuesday, the magazine said.

Trump accused Zelenskyy on Wednesday of prolonging the “killing field” by refusing to surrender the Russia-occupied Crimea Peninsula as part of a possible deal. Russia illegally annexed that area in 2014. Zelenskyy has repeated many times during the war that recognising occupied territory as Russian is a red line for his country.

Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plan to arrive in Rome on Friday for the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican’s St Peter’s Square on Saturday. It wasn’t immediately clear if they would meet separately.

An explosion in Moscow targets a senior officer Meanwhile, a senior Russian military officer was killed by a car bomb near Moscow on Friday, Russia’s top criminal investigation agency said.

The attack follows the killing of Lt Gen Igor Kirillov on December 17, 2024 when a bomb hidden on an electric scooter parked outside his apartment building exploded as he left for his office. Russian authorities blamed Ukraine for the killing of Kirillov.

Since Russia invaded, several prominent figures have been killed in targetted attacks believed to have been carried out by Ukraine.

Russian forces used Thursday’s attack on Kyiv as cover to launch almost 150 assaults on Ukrainian positions along the roughly 1,000-kilometre front line, Zelenskyy said late Thursday.

“When the maximum of our forces was focused on defence against missiles and drones, the Russians went on to significantly intensify their ground attacks,” he wrote on Telegram.

Western European leaders have accused Putin of dragging his feet in the negotiations and seeking to grab more Ukrainian land while his army has battlefield momentum.

Zelenskyy noted Thursday that Ukraine agreed to a US ceasefire proposal 44 days ago, as a first step to a negotiated peace, but that Russian attacks continued.

During recent talks, Russia hit the city of Sumy, killing more than 30 civilians gathered to celebrate Palm Sunday, battered Odesa with drones and blasted Zaporizhzhia with powerful glide bombs. (AP) NPK NPK