Russian Attack Hits Ukraine Hospital   10/14 06:18

   

   KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- Russian forces launched powerful glide bombs and 
drones against Ukraine's second-largest city in overnight attacks, hitting a 
hospital and wounding seven people, an official said Tuesday, as European 
military aid for Kyiv dropped sharply and Ukrainian President Volodymyr 
Zelenskyy prepared to ask U.S. President Donald Trump for Tomahawk missiles.

   The Russian attack on Kharkiv in Ukraine's northeast hit the city's main 
hospital, forcing the evacuation of 50 patients, regional head Oleh Syniehubov 
said. The attack's main targets were energy facilities, Zelenskyy said, without 
providing details of what was hit.

   "Every day, every night, Russia strikes power plants, power lines, and our 
(natural) gas facilities," Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

   Russian long-range strikes on its neighbor's power grid are part of a 
campaign since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022 to 
disable Ukraine's power supply, denying civilians heat and running water during 
the bitter winter.

   The Ukrainian leader urged foreign countries to help blunt Russia's 
long-range attacks by providing more air defense systems for the country, which 
is almost the size of Texas and hard to defend from the air in its entirety.

   "We are counting on the actions of the U.S. and Europe, the G7, all partners 
who have these systems and can provide them to protect our people," Zelenskyy 
said. "The world must force Moscow to sit down at the table for real 
negotiations."

   But the latest data on foreign military aid to Ukraine showed a sharp 
drop-off in recent help.

   Military aid in July and August plunged by 43% compared to the first half of 
the year, Germany's Kiel Institute, which tracks support to Ukraine, said 
Tuesday.

   That fall occurred after the creation of a fund that pools contributions 
from NATO members, except the United States, to purchase American weapons, 
munitions and equipment for Ukraine. The financial arrangement is known as the 
Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL.

   In the first half of 2025, military aid had exceeded what was sent between 
2022-2024, despite the lack of U.S. contributions, the institute said.

   Zelenskyy is due to meet with Trump in Washington on Friday.

   The talks are expected to center on the potential U.S. provision to Ukraine 
of sophisticated long-range weapons that can hit back at Russia.

   Trump has warned Moscow that he may send Tomahawk cruise missiles for 
Ukraine to use. Such a move, previously ruled out by Washington for fear of 
escalating the war, would deepen tensions between the United States and Russia.

   But it could provide leverage to help push Moscow into negotiations after 
Trump expressed frustration over Russian President Vladimir Putin's refusal to 
budge on key aspects of a possible peace deal.

   Tomahawk missiles would be the longest-range missiles in Kyiv's arsenal and 
could allow it to strike targets deep inside Russia, including Moscow, with 
precision. Unlike the drones that Ukraine has used for such strikes so far, 
Tomahawks carry a much heavier warhead and are more difficult to intercept as 
they fly at low altitude to dodge air defenses.

   Ukraine's long-range attacks are already taking a toll on Russian oil 
production, Ukrainian officials and foreign military analysts say.

   Its strikes using newly developed long-range missiles and drones are causing 
significant gas shortages in Russia, according to Zelenskyy.