An American citizen was among the 15 killed in Russian drone and missile strikes on the Ukrainian capital city, Kyiv, on Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed in a press conference Wednesday.
In response to a reporter’s question on U.S. diplomats in Kyiv having to spend the night in a bunker, Bruce said “we can confirm the death of a U.S. citizen in Ukraine.”
“We are aware of last night’s attack on Kyiv that resulted in numerous casualties, including the tragic death of a U.S. citizen,” she said, noting, “We condemn those strikes and extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected.”
Bruce did not offer any more details on the identity of the citizen killed by the Russian strikes, citing “respect to the family during this obviously horrible time.”
UKRAINE DESTROYS DOZENS OF RUSSIAN WARPLANES WITH DRONE ATTACK DEEP INSIDE RUSSIA
She noted that “the president in the recent past has made his thoughts clear about striking civilian areas in that regard” and reiterated that “the thread throughout all of the work that we do is the department has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens abroad.”
She added that the State Department “stand[s] ready to provide all possible consular assistance.”
The AP reported that 15 people were killed and 156 wounded in a Russian bombardment of Kyiv that lasted nearly nine hours. According to the outlet, Russia fired over 440 drones and 32 missiles, making it the deadliest attack on the Ukrainian capital this year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on X that six other Ukrainian regions — Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad and Mykolai — were also hit during the attacks.
TRUMP IS LEADING THE WAY TO ENSURE US INTERESTS ARE SAFE IN MIDDLE EAST: PETE HEGSETH
This comes as world leaders converge on Canada for the G7 Summit. President Donald Trump attended the first day of the summit but left early to deal with the growing Iran-Israel conflict.
Trump slammed former President Barack Obama and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for their 2014 “very big mistake” when Russia was removed from the G8 summit, which Trump argued would have prevented further war from breaking out between Russia and Ukraine.
“The G7 used to be the G8. Barack Obama and a person named Trudeau didn’t want to have Russia in,” Trump said Monday from Canada, where the G7 summit is being held, while joined by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“I would say that that was a mistake because I think you wouldn’t have a war right now if you had Russia. And you wouldn’t have a war right now if Trump were president four years ago,” Trump continued. “But it didn’t work out that way. But it used to be the G8.”
WHITE HOUSE TAKES INTEREST IN PROPOSED RUSSIAN SANCTIONS AS UKRAINE WAR PEACE TALKS DRAG ON
The White House is in ongoing discussions with Capitol Hill to amend a proposed sanctions bill targeting Russia, and prefers that route over sanctions led by the executive branch.
Now, with Trump increasingly skeptical of Vladimir Putin’s intentions to end the war, the bill could soon come to the floor. According to three sources familiar with the matter, talks between lawmakers and the White House are active, though no firm timeline has been set.
Trump has pushed for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, which have so far not yielded an end to the three-year conflict, and has begun to sour on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reluctance to find a peaceful end to the ongoing conflict. He recently questioned “what the hell happened” to the Russian leader.
