Russia Hammers Ukraine With Glide Bombs, Striking Hospital
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 to kyiv fell sharply and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky prepared to ask U.S. President Donald Trump for Tomahawk missiles.
The Russian attack on Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, hit the city’s main hospital, forcing the evacuation of 50 patients, regional chief Oleh Syniehubov said. The main targets of the attack were energy facilities, Zelensky said, without providing details on what was hit.
“Every day, every night, Russia hits power plants, power lines and our (natural) gas facilities,” Zelensky said on Telegram.
Russia’s 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 cut Ukraine’s power supply, depriving civilians of heat and running water during the harsh winter.
The Ukrainian leader urged foreign countries to help mitigate Russia’s long-range attacks by providing more air defense systems to the country, which is nearly the size of Texas and difficult to defend from the air as a whole.
“We are counting on the actions of the United States and Europe, the G7, all partners who have these systems and can provide them to protect our populations,” Zelenskyy said. “The world must force Moscow to sit at the table for real negotiations.”
But the latest data on foreign military aid to Ukraine showed a sharp decline in recent aid.
Military aid in July and August fell 43% compared to the first half, the German Institute in Kiel, which tracks support for Ukraine, said Tuesday.
This drop occurred after the creation of a fund that pools contributions from NATO members, except the United States, to purchase American weapons, ammunition and equipment for Ukraine. The financial agreement is known as the Priority Requirements List for Ukraine, or PURL.
In the first half of 2025, military aid exceeded that sent between 2022 and 2024, despite the lack of U.S. contributions, the institute said.
Zelensky is scheduled to meet with Trump on Friday in Washington.
Discussions are expected to focus on the United States potentially supplying Ukraine with sophisticated, long-range weapons capable of striking back against Russia.
Trump has warned Moscow that it may send Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine. Such a move, previously ruled out by Washington for fear of an escalation of the war, would worsen tensions between the United States and Russia.
But it could provide leverage to help Moscow begin negotiations after Trump expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to budge on key aspects of a possible peace deal.
The Tomahawk missiles would be the longest-range missiles in kyiv’s arsenal and could allow it to precisely strike targets deep inside Russia, including Moscow. Unlike the drones that Ukraine has used so far for such strikes, Tomahawks carry a much heavier warhead and are harder to intercept because they fly at low altitudes 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 recently developed long-range missiles and drones are causing significant gas shortages in Russia, according to Zelenskyy.
