Trump’s Insistence to Discuss Peace Deal Falls on Deaf Ears in Kremlin

It seems as if President Donald Trump’s recurring pressure on Ukraine and Russia to return to the negotiating table is falling on deaf ears in the Kremlin. Despite Trump’s immoral and irrational policy of addressing parity between victim and attacker, Ukraine continues to feel the brunt of Russia’s obnoxious disregard for global pleas to cease its aggression.

Russia’s latest massive airborne attack against unarmed Ukrainian civilian targets triggered a nationwide air raid alert at around 3 AM, Saturday, March 7, local time (8 PM EST) to warn people against incoming projectiles. Civilians in Kyiv and Kharkiv again suffered Russia’s bloody wrath. Russia’s arsenal of Iranian drones and missiles is apparently unlimited.

Russian troops struck a five-story building in the city of Kharkiv with a ballistic missile, killing 10 people, including two children, and injuring at least 15, local authorities reported.

Russia launched 480 drones, including Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicles, and 29 missiles, including hypersonic Zircon anti-ship missile and Iskander-M ballistic missiles, targeting energy infrastructure across Ukraine, the Ukrainian Air Force reported. Ukrainian forces downed 453 drones and 19 missiles, the statement read.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the Russian attack on the city killed a teacher and her nine-year-old son, as well as a 13-year-old girl and her mother. Among the injured in Kharkiv are two boys, aged six and 11, and a 17-year-old girl, according to Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov. The number of victims could grow as rescue operations are still underway. Eleven people are believed to be trapped under the rubble. Syniehubov said fires were reported as a result of a ballistic missile attack.

A secondary school in Kharkiv’s Kyivskyi district was damaged in a Russian strike. The building has been damaged for the third time since Russia's full-scale invasion, with about 160 windows blown out and classrooms damaged.

“Since the start of 2022, this is the third time our windows have been blown out like this. But it’s the first time on this scale. There is a huge amount of damage. Not a single classroom has been left undamaged,” Karina Kruk, deputy head of the institution, speaking to Suspilne Kharkiv, a local branch of Suspilne, Ukraine’s national public broadcaster.

Two people were injured in the town of Chuhuiv in Kharkiv Oblast after a Russian drone attacked a home at around 1:20 AM, according to State Emergency Service.

“There must be a response from partners to these savage strikes against life,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. “Russia has not abandoned its attempts to destroy Ukraine’s residential and critical infrastructure, and therefore support must continue.”

The attack came hours after Zelenskyy said he had visited the eastern front on Friday.

Zelenskyy condemned the attack and called for an international response. However, this Russian attack was again met with silence from the White House. Zelenskyy said that Russia struck Ukraine overnight with 29 missiles and 480 drones, targeting energy facilities in Kyiv and other central regions and with damage reported in at least seven other locations across the country.

According to preliminary data, air defense systems downed 19 missiles and 453 drones, with hits from 9 missiles and 26 strike drones recorded at 22 locations.

In Kharkiv, in Ukraine’s northeast, emergency workers were combing the rubble, looking for survivors. Among the dead are a primary school teacher and her son, a second-grade student, who were killed in their home and an eighth-grader who also died with her mother, according to the city's mayor, Ihor Terekhov.

“There must be a response from partners to these savage strikes against life,” Zelenskyy said on social media. “Russia has not abandoned its attempts to destroy Ukraine’s residential and critical infrastructure, and therefore support must continue. We count on active work with the European Union to guarantee greater protection for our people. I am grateful to everyone who helps strengthen our protection.”

In Kyiv, 1,905 buildings in the Pecherskyi, Dniprovskyi, Holosiivskyi and Solomianskyi districts have been left without heating following a Russian attack on the night of March 6-7 and damage to a critical infrastructure facility.

This includes some high-rise apartment blocks in the Darnytskyi and Dniprovskyi districts, where it is not yet possible to restore the heat supply due to critical damage to the Darnytsia Combined Heat and Power Plant, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. He stated that utility services are working to restore heating to these residential buildings as quickly as possible.

Zelenskyy visited Donetsk Oblast on March 6, meeting Ukrainian brigades defending key eastern cities as Kyiv warns Russia may be preparing a new offensive this spring.

“The Russians are not abandoning the war, and here, in Donetsk Oblast, they are preparing an offensive for the spring,” Zelenskyy said on X.

Donetsk Oblast, on the border with Russia, remains one of the war’s most active front-line regions, as Russian forces continue pressing Ukrainian defensive positions around Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad – two key logistics hubs west of Russian-occupied Donetsk.

“It is important that our positions are strong. It is important that our brigades are adequately supplied,” the Zelenskyy said. “Our warriors are holding their ground with dignity. And this is how our country, our diplomacy, and our people will hold strong as well.”

At least two people were killed and eight others injured in Russian attacks against Ukraine over the previous day, local authorities said on March 6.

Russian forces launched 141 different types of drones against Ukraine overnight, of which roughly 100 were Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicles, the Air Force said on March 6. It reported downing 111 of them.

In Kherson Oblast, one person was killed, and four others were wounded by Russian attacks over the past day, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on March 6.

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Russia attacked three districts of the region with artillery, drones, and "Uragan" multiple launch rocket systems, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha reported on March 6.  He said three people were wounded, including a 15-year-old girl.  

Curiously, after publically berating Ukraine and its President for pursuing a war that it cannot win because of Russia’s superiority, President Trump reportedly begged Zelenskyy for help in dealing with Iranian drones.

“We received a request from the United States for specific support in protection against shaheds in the Middle East region,” Zelenskyy was quoted as saying by the Kyiv Post. “I gave instructions to provide the necessary means and ensure the presence of Ukrainian specialists who can guarantee the required security.”

Later on Thursday last week, Zelenskyy appeared to respond to Trump’s comments about the peace negotiations with Russia – saying that Kyiv’s priority is “to do everything to end the war.”

“We will continue the diplomatic process when our American partners are ready to work as we agreed – bilateral formats with them, trilateral formats with Russia, as well as work with the Europeans.”

“Right now, practically all of the world’s attention is focused on the situation around Iran, and no matter how long the hostilities last there, we must be ready to resume diplomacy at any moment. That’s exactly how the Ukrainian team works,” he added. “Ukraine helps partners who help ensure our security and protect the lives of our people,” Zelenskyy said. “Glory to Ukraine!”

Trump apparently decided to quickly deal with criminal Venezuela and Iran but he’s still in a quandary about the true nature of Russia. Who is the greater threat to global peace and security? The answer is Russia.