At least 17 people were killed and over 100 injured on Tuesday following a wave of Russian missile strikes on southeastern Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region. According to Ukrainian authorities, the strikes—unusually launched in daylight—targeted the city of Dnipro and the nearby town of Samar, hitting schools, hospitals, and damaging a passenger train.

A separate Russian drone attack killed three others in Sumy, including a toddler, the local military administration reported. Footage and images from the scenes showed bloodied civilians being rescued from rubble by emergency workers.

“This is not a fight where it’s hard to choose a side,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media. “Standing with Ukraine means defending life.”

Missiles Hit as Zelensky Attends NATO Summit

The timing of the strikes—just as President Zelensky arrived in The Hague for a NATO summit—drew harsh criticism from Kyiv. Ukrainian officials accuse Moscow of deliberately escalating violence to undermine peace diplomacy and disrupt international engagement.

Zelensky, who is expected to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the summit, aims to press for tighter sanctions on Russia and additional defense support.

Schools, Hospitals, Train Damaged

Among the damaged structures were civilian infrastructure and a passenger train traveling from Odesa to Zaporizhzhia. A video filmed by a passenger captured the terrifying moment of impact. No passengers were killed, but the military confirmed the damage was caused by a ballistic missile blast nearby.

The State Emergency Service reported that two civilians were killed in Samar, a town just outside Dnipro.

Sumy Targeted by Drone Strikes

In Sumy, northern Ukraine, Russian drones struck residential areas overnight. Oleh Hryhorov, head of the regional administration, said a five-year-old boy was pulled from a collapsed building. “They went to sleep in their homes but the Russian drones interrupted their sleep—forever,” Hryhorov said.

Escalation Continues Despite Talks

The Dnipropetrovsk region has recently seen increased Russian advances, with small military units reportedly crossing into Ukrainian-held territory. Although Ukrainian forces claim to have repelled these incursions, Moscow insists it has established a foothold in the industrial region.

Last month’s direct talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul yielded only a prisoner and body exchange agreement. No new diplomatic engagements have been scheduled since. Just days earlier, Russia launched a nine-hour barrage on Kyiv during a G7 summit, killing over 30 civilians nationwide.