Kyiv, Ukraine - A 13-year-old girl was among three people killed in a Russian strike on a house near the frontline city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine on Monday, the authorities said, as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned of Russia's next pressure-related move.
A 13-year-old girl was among three people killed in a Russian strike on a house near the frontline city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine on Monday, the authorities said.
The head of the Donetsk regional military administration, Vadym Filashkin, said a house in the Cherkaske area was hit with cluster munitions, accusing Russia of "a deliberate attempt" to maximize civilian casualties.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday that Russia would only negotiate "seriously" under pressure, days after President Donald Trump announced a temporary easing of US sanctions on Russian diesel.
"For Germany and for Europe, such a decision is out of the question," said Merz, referring to the US-Russia diesel deal.
"Russia will only negotiate seriously under pressure, and that is why we are maintaining our sanctions against Russia."
Trump announced Friday that he had spoken to President Vladimir Putin and they struck an agreement for Russia to release large amounts of diesel onto world markets.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed the move, prompting Trump to call Saturday for Ukraine to "get a new leader."
Zelensky later responded, saying the people of Ukraine are the only ones who can choose a new leader, and asked Trump to tell Putin to agree to a 60-day ceasefire so Ukrainians could safely vote in an election.
Trump then on Sunday claimed Russia and Ukraine agreed to an "energy ceasefire," to which Zelensky said was "news for me." Quickly after the announcement, Ukraine claimed Russia attacked again "after" the alleged ceasefire.
Asked whether he now regarded Trump as being on Russia's side, rather than a mediator in the Ukraine war, Merz merely noted the conflict was not yet over.
"It has not ended in the way President Trump intended it to within just a few days at the start of his second term," he said.