Kyiv Grapples with Grief as Military Support Talks Intensify

Sat Sep 13 2025 09:23:53 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Kyiv observes a day of mourning following devastating Russian attacks that claimed 23 lives, prompting discussions among European allies about military aid for Ukraine.

In a somber mood, Kyiv mourns the loss of 23 lives, including four children, as it grapples with the aftermath of significant Russian aerial attacks. The incident has drawn international condemnation, leading to discussions among EU defense ministers about bolstering military support for Ukraine. As Ukrainian officials stress the need for tougher sanctions against Russia, the prospects for peace negotiations remain dim amid ongoing hostilities and calls for NATO membership.

A day of mourning is being observed in Kyiv after the second biggest Russian aerial attack of the war so far killed at least 23 people, including four children, and injured dozens of others.

The city's mayor, Vitaly Klitschko, said it was to honour the dead, as a massive recovery effort continues at the five-storey block of flats where 22 of the 23 were killed.

The attack has been widely condemned - the White House said President Donald Trump was not happy but not surprised, while European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Russia would stop at nothing to terrorise Ukraine.

Meanwhile, EU defence ministers are meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark to discuss support for Ukraine.

The drone and missile strikes also damaged the EU's diplomatic mission and the British Council building in central Kyiv.

Speaking on the way into Friday's meeting, Lithuania's Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said Russian President Vladimir Putin was cheaply buying time to kill more people. Hopes of possible peace negotiations are at least naïve when we look at what is happening in Ukraine and what just happened [on Thursday], she added.

Estonia's Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur stated that the best security guarantee for Ukraine would be its membership in NATO.

On Friday, the Swedish government summoned its Russian ambassador to protest the continued attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilians, following a similar action by the UK on Thursday.

Overnight from Thursday into Friday saw less fighting, although both Russia and Ukraine reported shooting down dozens of drones.

Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov reported that five settlements in his region had been attacked, with one person being killed in Kupyansk.

The Ukrainian military said it had conducted overnight strikes on a facility in Russia's Bryansk region responsible for supplying fuel to Moscow's war effort.

Trump had hoped to organise a summit involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin to bring an end to the war, but those efforts have since stalled.

After Thursday's attack, Zelensky remarked that Moscow had chosen ballistics instead of the negotiating table and reiterated the need for new, tough sanctions on Russia.

Following a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed skepticism about the feasibility of a meeting between Putin and Zelensky.

Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that current western proposals for a security guarantee risked turning Ukraine into what she termed a provocateur on Russia's border, as Russia has long opposed any western military presence in a post-war Ukraine.