Russian bomb hits building in Ukraine's 2nd largest city, killing 2, including a 12-year-old boy

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces struck a residential building in Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv on Thursday, killing two, including a 12-year-old boy, and injuring scores of others, and launched scores of other attacks as they continued their grinding onslaught in the country's east.

Regional head Oleh Syniehubov said the boy was fatally injured when the building was hit by a Russian 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) glide bomb.

“He was freed from under the rubble with severe head injuries and fractures," Syniehubov wrote on social media. "Doctors performed resuscitation measures for more than half an hour. Unfortunately, it was not possible to save the child.”

Syniehubov said later that rescuers also retrieved the body of an unidentified man from the debris.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said at least 35 people were injured in the attack and others could still be trapped under the rubble, including a missing 15-year-old boy.

Russia has increasingly used powerful glide bombs to pummel Ukrainian positions along the 1,000-kilometer (600-miles) line of contact and strike cities dozens of kilometers (miles) from the front line. Kharkiv, a city of 1.1 million, is about 30 kilometers (less than 20 miles) from the border.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly urged the United States to allow Ukraine to use long-range American missiles to strike air bases deeper in Russia that are used by aicraft carrying glide bombs. Washington so far has only allowed some strikes close to the border.

Zelenskyy repeated his request Thursday, publishing a video showing the ravaged building, at least three of its floors destroyed and the rest of it seriously damaged.

“Partners see what is happening every day," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. "And under these conditions, each of their delayed decisions means at least dozens, if not hundreds of such Russian bombs against Ukraine. Their decisions are the lives of our people. Therefore, we must together stop Russia and do it with all possible force.”

Early Thursday, Russia also fired 10 missiles of various types at the Dniester Estuary bridge that connects the northern and southern parts of the Odesa region, Ukraine's air force said, adding that only two of them were intercepted. It didn't say whether the bridge was hit.

Russian forces also sent 43 exploding drones over at least nine Ukrainian regions, the air force said. It said 17 were shot down, 23 jammed and three flew back to Russian-controlled territories.

The head of Kyiv city administration, Serhii Popko, said debris from some of the drones that were intercepted over the capital fell in the Podil district just north of downtown, causing minor damage. According to Popko, there was only one day in October in which Kyiv residents did not hear an air alert. During the month, Kyiv experienced two air alerts per day on average, repelling 20 actual aerial attacks targeting the city.

In the country's east, Russian forces continued their slow but steady assault, trying to capitalize on Ukrainian shortages of manpower and ammunition. In Moscow, the Defense Ministry reported the capture of the village of Yasna Polyana in the Donetsk region that lies on the way to the well-fortified Ukrainian stronghold of Kurakhove.

Ukraine struck back Thursday with drone attacks.

Authorities in the Russia-occupied city of Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov reported a drone attack on the port early Thursday, saying three people were injured.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses on Thursday downed 21 Ukrainian drones over several regions and the Black Sea.

In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, Russian soldiers fire a 152 mm gun Giatsint-B from their position at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, Russian soldiers fire a Tyulpan self-propelled heavy mortar from their position at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo taken from video distributed by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, a Russian self-propelled multiple rocket launcher Uragan (Hurricane) fires toward Ukrainian position at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo provided by Kharkiv City Administration, an ambulance evacuates an injured man after a multi-storey apartment building was hit by Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, late Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (Kharkiv City Administration via AP)

In this photo provided by Kharkiv City Administration a multi-storey apartment building is seen damaged by Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, late Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (Kharkiv City Administration via AP)

A multi-storey apartment building is seen damaged by the Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, late Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

Rescuers help people after a multi-storey apartment building was hit by Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, late Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

In this photo provided by Kharkiv City Administration a multi-storey apartment building is seen damaged by Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, late Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (Kharkiv City Administration via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)