After deadly shelling in Kiev, Zelensky urges greater international pressure to bring about 'regime change' in Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Thursday for increased international pressure to bring about "regime change" in Russia, following a wave of shelling that left at least 26 people dead in Kiev and after Moscow announced the seizure of a key position.

Zelensky called the attacks "exemplary killings" and said he believes it is possible to pressure Russia to end the war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022 with Moscow's full-scale invasion of troops.

"I believe Russia can be pushed to stop this war. It started it, and it can be made to end it," the president declared after the Russian shelling.

According to a new balance sheet of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, the bombings caused the death in Kiev of at least 26 people, including three children.

According to the source, Thursday’s pre-dawn drone and missile attack also left 159 people wounded, including 14 minors.

One person was also killed in a Russian attack early Friday morning in Zaporiyia, in eastern Ukraine, the military administration of that region reported on Telegram.

The Ukrainian leader warned that "if the world doesn’t aim to change the regime in Russia, that means even after the war ends, Moscow will still try to destabilize neighboring countries." He made the remarks in an online address during a conference in Finland to mark 50 years since the Helsinki Conference, which defused tensions during the Cold War.

"It's time to put maximum pressure on Moscow"

AFP reporters saw ruined residential buildings, charred cars and firefighters trying to put out the remains of a blaze as rescue teams searched for survivors in the rubble.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sibiga reiterated calls for increased pressure on Russia after what he described as "a horrendous morning in Kiev."

"It's time to put maximum pressure on Moscow," said the foreign minister, who said U.S. President Donald Trump "has been very generous and very patient" with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

This attack by Russia came after Trump gave Putin a 10-day ultimatum on Monday to end the war in Ukraine.

The U.S. leader called the Russian action repugnant and insisted that "we are going to impose sanctions."

Following Trump's warning, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the current No. 2 on the Security Council, said on X that "every ultimatum is a threat and a step toward war," to which the Republican responded Thursday by noting that the Russian was entering "a very dangerous zone."

Russia claims key stronghold

The Russian military on Thursday claimed the seizure of Chasiv Yar, a Donetsk town which is a key position on the eastern front, but a military spokesman for a Ukrainian unit deployed in the area quickly denied it.

In Telegram, Oleksander Kovalenko, a Ukrainian military specialist, considered that it is too early to claim that Chasiv Yar passed under control of Russian forces, and considered that the defense of the town for more than two years now represents already an "absolute record" for the Ukrainian army.

If Russia's claim is confirmed, Moscow's troops would gain a strategic hilltop position, after months of adding up slow but steady advances on the ground.

Despite U.S. pressure, Russia has stepped up its shelling of Ukraine in recent weeks.