Fresh strikes on Ukraine after Trump questions Putin's desire to halt war

Russia continued its assault on Ukraine yesterday with drone attacks and airstrikes hours after Donald Trump cast doubt on Vladimir Putin's readiness to end the war.

- Kate Connolly

Three people were killed and four were wounded in airstrikes on Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region, according to the regional prosecutor's office. In a drone attack on the city of Pavlohrad in the Dnipro region, one person was killed and a 14-year-old girl was wounded after a third consecutive night of assaults, the region's governor, Serhiy Lysak, said.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, described the coming week as "very critical" for US attempts to end the war, telling the US broadcaster NBC that the administration would need to "make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in".

He was speaking after what was described in diplomatic circles as a potentially historic meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump on the sidelines of the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday.

In a social media post sent during his flight back to the US afterwards, Trump suggested Russia was not committed to negotiating a ceasefire. "There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns over the last few days," he wrote.