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A RUSSIAN STRIKE on a central square in Ukraine’s frontline town of Dobropillia has killed at least two people and wounded 27, authorities have said.
It comes just two days after US President Donald Trump threatened his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin with “severe” secondary tariffs on Moscow’s trading partners if it did not end the war.
Russia fired hundreds of drones, artillery and a ballistic missile at Ukraine early today, defying Trump’s call to reach a peace deal within 50 days or face severe sanctions.
According to regional authorities, Russia dropped a 500-kilogramme bomb on Dobropillia, which is located in the east of the country just 20 kilometres from the frontline.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said rescue operations were underway in Dobropillia after the bomb strike that had targeted “an ordinary shop and shopping pavilions.”
He called the attack “horrific, senseless terror” and said “there is no military sense in their strikes.”
Rescue operations are underway in Dobropillia, Donetsk Region, after a Russian bomb hit a local store. The number of victims is not yet confirmed. This is horrendous, dumb Russian terror. Simply an attempt to kill as many as possible. Russia is all about vile strikes like this. pic.twitter.com/oMww1pO766
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 16, 2025
Vadym Filashkin, head of Ukraine’s embattled Donetsk region, said two people were killed and 27 wounded.
Filashkin published footage of the square, with several fires and low-rise buildings severely damaged and covered in rubble.
He said the rush hour attack hit 54 shops and 13 buildings around the crowded square.
Officials said rescue workers clearing the rubble could find more victims.
Dobropillia is a quiet town not far from the eastern Ukraine frontline that has faced regular attacks throughout Russia’s invasion.
Russia has stepped up its summer campaign in recent weeks as Washington-mediated ceasefire talks stall.
All the injured in Dobropillia have received qualified medical care.
— Вадим Філашкін / Vadym Filashkin (@filashkin) July 16, 2025
Local authorities, police, and emergency services are on-site — the search and rescue operation continues. pic.twitter.com/lY9QjkeA6y
Speaking on Monday, Trump said he was “disappointed” in Putin, who has kept attacking Ukraine as though the two leaders’ phone conversations “didn’t mean anything.”
Some two dozen people were wounded across Ukraine in other night-time Russian attacks, officials said.
In Russia, officials said one person was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on the city of Voronezh, some 200 kilometres from Ukraine’s border.
The attacks came as Zelenskyy unveiled a government reshuffle – replacing his prime minister and defence minister as he aims to breathe new life into his team, with no end of the war in sight.
Ukraine’s new prime minister will be Yulia Svyrydenko – an economy minister known for finalising a crucial natural resources deal with the United States.
Zelenskyy has indicated that Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who had taken part in negotiations with Russia, will be the next Ukrainian ambassador to Washington.
The outgoing prime minister, Denys Shmygal, will take over the defence ministry brief, Zelenskyy has said.
In Brussels, the European Commission today proposed establishing a fund of up to €100 billion to support Kyiv, calling it a “long-term commitment to Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction.”
The EU’s anti-crime bodies Europol and Eurojust said they had coordinated an international operation to dismantle a pro-Russian hacking group accused of launching thousands of online attacks against Ukraine and its allies.
The operation, they said, involved 12 countries and led to the arrest of two people – in France and Spain.
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