Ukraine says Russian drone attacks on the city of Kharkiv Saturday killed at least seven people, including three children, and triggered fires that damaged homes and other civilian infrastructure.
Regional governor Oleh Synehubov wrote on Telegram that drones damaged civilian infrastructure in the Nemyshlianskyi district of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
The attack by the Iranian-made Shahed drones caused fire that destroyed at least 14 homes. Reporters from Suspilne public television observed the glow of a fire over the city.
Ukraine’s air force said it downed 23 of the 31 Russian-launched drones.
Viktor Tereshchenko, the top military official in Velykyi Burluk, a town east of Kharkiv, told Suspilne that drones damaged a hospital and a restaurant.
Officials reported an attack on a hospital in the town last week, prompting the evacuation of dozens of patients.
In the Black Sea port of Odesa, the regional governor said a drone attack injured one person.
Three people were reported killed in shelling earlier in the day in a village in the Sumy region, on the border with Russia.
U.S. aid still stalled
Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday criticized a Republican delay on approving new aid to Ukraine.
“The failure of the United States Congress, if it occurs, not to support Ukraine is close to criminal neglect. It is outrageous,” Biden said in the White House Oval Office alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Scholz made a whirlwind stop in Washington to support Biden’s efforts to gain funding for Ukraine.
Scholz addressed growing concerns in Europe about the standoff between the Democratic president and House Republicans on Ukraine funding.
“Without the support of United States, and without the support of the European states, Ukraine will have not a chance to defend its own country,” Scholz said.
The U.S. Senate is moving toward a final vote to advance a $95.3 billion military aid package, of which about $60 billion would go toward Ukraine’s war with Russia.
Earlier Friday, a bipartisan congressional delegation met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv seeking to give assurances they would do their part to get crucial, stalled military aid legislation through the House of Representatives.
The delegation consisted of four members of the House Intelligence Committee — Republicans Mike Turner, the panel’s chairman, and French Hill and Democrats Jason Crow and Abigail Spanberger.
“The United States is working diligently in the House of Representatives and the Senate to secure the funding that is necessary in 2024,” Turner told journalists at a press conference in Kyiv before the delegation left to meet Zelenskyy.
In Washington, VOA’s Ukrainian Service on Thursday asked senators if the Ukraine bill has a chance to pass.
Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat and member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said, “It’s up to Republicans. Obviously, Democrats are ready to support Ukraine aid in any way, shape or form. Republicans said last fall they would not vote for Ukraine aid unless we fixed the border. We did that. We got a bipartisan bill to fix the border. Republicans all voted against it yesterday. They all voted against Ukraine aid.”
Republican Senator Roger Marshall told VOA, “I’m not going to vote for any further military funding, supplemental funding or anything else until we pass something that actually secures the border.”
Another Republican senator, Bill Cassidy, defended the bill, telling VOA, “The United States needs to support allies, because there are bad countries out there attempting to stop, hurt the United States. It is in the United States’ interests to support our allies.”
Senator Tommy Tuberville, also a Republican and a member of the Armed Services Committee, said he stood against the bill. “I haven’t supported any Ukraine money to this point. I haven’t decided where we’re going to go with this. We do need more munitions,” he told VOA.
The United States has been Ukraine’s largest supplier of military assistance in the war, but that help is stalled while Congress wrangles over a bill that would provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
In his nightly video address Friday, Zelenskyy expressed appreciation for Washington’s help in defending Ukraine’s sovereignty and democracy from the beginning of the war.
Zelenskyy underscored, however, that Ukraine continues to face extraordinary challenges. “In Europe, there are increasing voices about how the Kremlin is preparing to expand aggression. The continuation of American support is necessary. And I thank all our American partners who understand this.”
Zelenskyy said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “sobers up only when he sees strength before him.”
VOA Ukrainian Service’s Kateryna Lisunova contributed to this story. Some information came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.