By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON/KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Undeterred by U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s threat to impose new sanctions and tariffs, Russia struck Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region late Friday, killing four people and wounding 18 others, officials said.
“As of now, there are four dead and 18 wounded,” in the strikes on the city of Dobropillia, confirmed Vadym Filashkin, head of Donetsk’s regional and military administrations.
It followed a wave of deadly Russian attacks on Ukraine this week, hitting the war-torn nation’s energy and gas infrastructure as well as civilian targets.
Those attacks were condemned by Trump, who, for the first time, sounded more critical toward Moscow. “Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large-scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Yet, he later told reporters that he trusted Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I believe him. I’m finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine, and they don’t have the cards,” he said. It may be easier dealing with Russia.”
European Union leaders — shaken by the prospect of U.S. disengagement from the war and European security more broadly agreed to boost spending and “rearm Europe” for 800 billion euros ($866 billion) at a crisis summit on Thursday.
It didn’t help that Trump cut off military aid and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) information to Ukraine.
With no intelligence to warn them, Thousands of Ukrainian troops who stormed into Russia’s Kursk region last August were almost surrounded by Russian forces Saturday.
It was a significant blow to Kyiv, which hoped to use its presence there as leverage for any peace talks with Russia.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Monday that Israel may agree to a temporary ceasefire to facilitate the release of hostages, but stressed unequivocally that the war against Hamas will not end until the terror group is completely defeated.
In a forceful address delivered from an investor forum in the Saudi capital, President Donald Trump issued a stark ultimatum to Iran, declaring that the Islamic Republic must choose between diplomatic engagement or face severe consequences over its nuclear ambitions.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a landmark case Thursday that could significantly limit the power of lower court judges to block presidential policies nationwide — a tool increasingly used in recent years against both Republican and Democratic administrations.
China is rolling out the red carpet for Latin America this week, hosting a high-level summit with regional leaders just days after reaching a tentative truce with Washington in their ongoing trade war.
In a sweeping shift in U.S. foreign policy, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will lift all sanctions against Syria, following discussions with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The move comes on the eve of a highly anticipated meeting with Syria’s Islamist President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al Qaeda commander who rose to power after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) targeted Hamas’s de facto military leader in Gaza, Muhammad Sinwar, in a major airstrike on Tuesday afternoon, striking what Israeli intelligence identified as an underground command center beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis.
President Donald Trump began his Middle East tour in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, signing more than $600 billion in agreements, including a record $142 billion arms deal.