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Russia, Ukraine Continue Air Attacks with Ceasefire Prospects Uncertain

Firefighters work at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Chernihiv, Ukraine March 16, 2025. (Reuters)
Firefighters work at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Chernihiv, Ukraine March 16, 2025. (Reuters)
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Russia, Ukraine Continue Air Attacks with Ceasefire Prospects Uncertain

Firefighters work at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Chernihiv, Ukraine March 16, 2025. (Reuters)
Firefighters work at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Chernihiv, Ukraine March 16, 2025. (Reuters)

Russia and Ukraine continued aerial attacks on each other, inflicting injuries and damages, officials said early on Sunday, as the fate of a proposed ceasefire to the three-year-old war remained uncertain.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he supported in principle Washington's proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine but that his forces would fight on until several crucial conditions were worked out.

Both sides have since traded heavy aerial strikes, and Russia moved closer on battlefield to ejecting Ukrainian forces from their months-old foothold in the western Russian region of Kursk.

The Russian defense ministry said on Sunday that its air defense units destroyed a total of 31 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory.

Of those, 16 were downed over the southwestern region of Voronezh, nine over the territory of the Belgorod region and the rest over the Rostov and Kursk regions, the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.

In a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian border region of Belgorod, three people were injured, including a 7-year-old, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said earlier on the Telegram messaging app.

Two of the people were injured after a drone hit their house, sparking a fire in the Gubkinsky district of the region, while the other person was injured in a drone attack on the village of Dolgoye, Gladkov said.

Alexander Gusev, governor of Voronezh, said on Telegram that there was no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The acting governor of the southern Russian region of Rostov said there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage reported there either.

In Ukraine, authorities reported several Russian drone strikes, including on the northern region of Chernihiv, where firefighters were battling a blaze at a high-rise building that was sparked by Russian drone attack, Ukraine's state of emergency service said.

Ukrainian media reported a series of explosions in the region surrounding the capital Kyiv, after Ukraine's air force issued warnings of a threat of drone attacks on Kyiv and a number of other central Ukrainian regions.

By 0300 GMT on Sunday, there was no official information about damage in the Kyiv region.

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Vehicle Smashes Through Illinois Building, Killing 4 Young People and Injuring Others

Police block a road leading to a building where a car smashed through during an after-school program, killing several people and injuring others, Monday, April 28, 2025, in Chatham, III. (AP Photo/ John O’Connor)
Police block a road leading to a building where a car smashed through during an after-school program, killing several people and injuring others, Monday, April 28, 2025, in Chatham, III. (AP Photo/ John O’Connor)
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Vehicle Smashes Through Illinois Building, Killing 4 Young People and Injuring Others

Police block a road leading to a building where a car smashed through during an after-school program, killing several people and injuring others, Monday, April 28, 2025, in Chatham, III. (AP Photo/ John O’Connor)
Police block a road leading to a building where a car smashed through during an after-school program, killing several people and injuring others, Monday, April 28, 2025, in Chatham, III. (AP Photo/ John O’Connor)

A car smashed through a building Monday afternoon, killing four young people and injuring several others during an after-school program in a small city outside of Springfield, Illinois, police said.

Officers responded at about 3:20 p.m. to calls about a vehicle ramming through the building, fatally hitting four people before exiting the other side, Chatham Police Department Deputy Chief Scott Tarter said.

Those killed were between the ages of 4 and 18, Illinois State Police said in an emailed statement. Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon identified the victims as “female students,” saying their identities will be released after family members are notified. Several other people were hurt and taken to hospitals, reported The Associated Press.

It wasn’t immediately known what led up to the crash or whether it was intentional.

Monday's crash is the latest instance of people driving vehicles into groups of people across the globe. Only two days earlier, a car plowed through a crowded street during a Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, killing 11.

The Illinois driver, who was uninjured, was the sole occupant of the vehicle and was taken to a hospital for evaluation, Tarter said. Police haven't said if the driver was arrested or taken into custody.

“I am horrified and deeply saddened by the deaths of children and numerous injuries in Chatham this afternoon," Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement. “My heart is heavy for these families and the unimaginable grief they’re experiencing – something that no parent should ever have to endure.”

He said his office was monitoring the situation and was ready to lend support.

The struck building and facilities house Youth Needing Other Things Outdoors, which holds after-school programs and summer camps, according to its website.

As evening fell, police cars with lights flashing still blocked streets leading to the building. On its Facebook account, the Chatham Police Department asked for prayers.

“A terrible tragedy has occurred here that has affected all of us,” the message ended.

By Monday night, some members of the community and beyond had changed their Facebook profile photos to an image of a red ribbon and the words “Chatham Strong.”