Russian strike on Kramatorsk kills at least 35; Zelenskyy criticises US

A Russian bomb attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk killed at least 35 people on Thursday, 8 October, when the strike tore through two buses. Russian attacks have now killed more than 70 people in two days. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded by criticising the United States for pursuing economic ties with Russia while also trying to mediate a war that has lasted more than four years.

Call to open Starlink

Speaking to reporters in Pryluky, Zelenskyy urged Washington to accept his request to widen Ukraine's access to the Starlink satellite internet service. He said this would help Ukraine target Russian ballistic-missile launchers. He noted that the US had opened Starlink access when it was responding to Iran. In his view, if Ukraine can defend its skies, Putin will be forced to sit down at the negotiating table.

Volker Turk, the UN human rights chief, said he was appalled by the strike and called the recent attacks on civilians reprehensible. Zelenskyy said 78 people were killed and 215 wounded across Ukraine over the last two days.

Talks in the US

Ukrainian negotiators will travel to the US on Friday and Saturday for talks in Florida. Zelenskyy expects Kyiv's European partners to join, and he urged US President Donald Trump to increase sanctions pressure on Russia. The delegation will include Kyrylo Budanov, the president's chief of staff, along with Rustem Umerov, Sergiy Kyslytsya and David Arakhamia.

US-led peace efforts have largely stalled because Washington is focused on its conflict with Iran. US officials say they are making a fresh attempt in an enlarged format, following last month's visits to Moscow and Kyiv by Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner. The talks are due to cover security guarantees for Ukraine, a postwar prosperity plan and other aspects of the conflict.

Other developments

Nato will begin its annual nuclear deterrence exercises in Italy on Tuesday. The drills run from 13 to 23 October and involve 17 nations. Separately, South Korea is recalling its ambassador to Ukraine after a dispute over Zelenskyy's announcement that two North Korean prisoners of war were being transferred to Seoul. Seoul accuses Kyiv of breaching a confidentiality agreement over the transfer.