Russian aerial attack hits a Ukrainian hospital, days before Zelenskyy
meets Trump
[October 14, 2025]
By ILLIA NOVIKOV
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 for Kyiv dropped sharply and Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepared to ask U.S. President Donald
Trump for Tomahawk missiles.
The Russian attack on Kharkiv in Ukraine’s northeast hit the city's main
hospital, forcing the evacuation of 50 patients, regional head Oleh
Syniehubov said. The attack’s main targets were energy facilities,
Zelenskyy said, without providing details of what was hit.
“Every day, every night, Russia strikes power plants, power lines, and
our (natural) gas facilities,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
Russian 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
disable Ukraine’s power supply, denying civilians heat and running water
during the bitter winter.
The Ukrainian leader urged foreign countries to help blunt Russia’s
long-range attacks by providing more air defense systems for the
country, which is almost the size of Texas and hard to defend from the
air in its entirety.
“We are counting on the actions of the U.S. and Europe, the G7, all
partners who have these systems and can provide them to protect our
people,” Zelenskyy said. “The world must force Moscow to sit down at the
table for real negotiations.”
But the latest data on foreign military aid to Ukraine showed a sharp
drop-off in recent help.
Military aid in July and August plunged by 43% compared to the first
half of the year, Germany’s Kiel Institute, which tracks support to
Ukraine, said Tuesday.
That fall occurred after the creation of a fund that pools contributions
from NATO members, except the United States, to purchase American
weapons, munitions and equipment for Ukraine. The financial arrangement
is known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL.
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In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on
Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, rescue workers put out a fire of a hospital
damaged by a Russian strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian
Emergency Service via AP)
In the first half of 2025, military aid had exceeded what was sent
between 2022-2024, despite the lack of U.S. contributions, the
institute said.
Zelenskyy is due to meet with Trump in Washington on Friday.
The talks are expected to center on the potential U.S. provision to
Ukraine of sophisticated long-range weapons that can hit back at
Russia.
Trump has warned Moscow that he may send Tomahawk cruise missiles
for Ukraine to use. Such a move, previously ruled out by Washington
for fear of escalating the war, would deepen tensions between the
United States and Russia.
But it could provide leverage to help push Moscow into negotiations
after Trump expressed frustration over Russian President Vladimir
Putin’s refusal to budge on key aspects of a possible peace deal.
Tomahawk missiles would be the longest-range missiles in Kyiv’s
arsenal and could allow it to strike targets deep inside Russia,
including Moscow, with precision. Unlike the drones that Ukraine has
used for such strikes so far, Tomahawks carry a much heavier warhead
and are more difficult to intercept as they fly at low altitude 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 newly developed long-range missiles and drones are
causing significant gas shortages in Russia, according to Zelenskyy.
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