Russia strikes Ukraine as Putin rebels against Trump’s ‘severe’ sanctions threat

Russia launched further brutal drone attacks on Ukraine overnight Monday, wounding a 14-year-old girl and “deliberately” targeting a university in a stunning act of rebellion against President Trump’s threats of fresh sanctions and weapons deliveries to Ukraine.

Five were killed and at least 43 injured, including four children, in attacks across Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent reported, citing regional authorities..

A 14-year-old girl, a university student, 19, and five members of staff were among the dozen injured during attacks on the northeastern city of Sumy.

Separate attacks struck Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblast, according to the Kyiv Independent.

Russia claimed that it had targeted Ukrainian military-industrial facilities on Monday, however, several residential buildings and medical sites were also hit with drone strikes, EuroNews reported.

The deadly strikes came hours after Trump and NATO chief Mark Rutte announced further Ukraine arms deliveries on Monday, manufactured in the US and paid for by European members of the alliance.

Trump also handed Putin a 50-day ultimatum to reach a peace deal or face “very severe” economic sanctions.

“Putin’s rationale behind conducting strikes only a few hours after President Trump’s announcement of weapons sales to Europe is rooted in his commitment to continuing the war in Ukraine,” Angelica Evans, Russia analyst for Washington, DC-based think-tank the Institute for the Study of War, told The Post.

“The Russians are trying to project confidence in their ability to weather sanctions and keep advancing forward in Ukraine, and last night’s strikes are another example of Putin’s intransigence,” she added.

Russia is making a summer push to break through the 600-mile frontline, stepping up its bombardment on Ukrainian cities to its highest level since the start of the war almost three and a half years ago.

Putin’s allies suggest he will use the September deadline to try and blitz his way through as much of Ukraine as he can, to strengthen his hand in future negotiations.

“Oh, how much can change both on the battlefield and with the mood of those leading the US and NATO in 50 days,” senior Russian lawmaker Konstantin Kosachev said on social media, according to EuroNews.

Evans warned that the chances of a peace deal being achieved in 50 days are highly unlikely.

“Putin is looking at the next 50 days the same way he’s looked at the last six months — an opportunity to keep pushing along the frontline and striking Ukrainian cities while pretending to be interested in peace,” she said.

“It’s highly unlikely we’ll get a peace deal in 50 days solely because Putin still isn’t interested in one. Until the West agrees to more significant sanctions that bring serious costs on the Russian economy and Ukrainian forces start taking territory back — a serious political and military cost for Putin — I don’t think we’ll see any movement on peace.”

However, she said a fresh round of secondary sanctions affecting Russia and China could have an impact.

“If the Trump administration goes through with this plan, countries like China and India could start feeling the pressure and reflecting some of that back in their relations with Russia,” Evans said.

“Putin will try and convince Trump to abandon secondary sanctions because this could threaten Russia’s ability to finance and continue the war if properly enforced. We know that Russia is relying on sanctions evasion and ongoing oil purchases from some of its allies to fund and supply this war, and secondary sanctions are a way to get at these channels.”