Strikes continue in Ukraine after Trump rebukes Putin

A Russian drone has struck an apartment building in a Ukraine city, killing three people, a day after US President Donald Trump rebuked Russia's leader for a deadly missile and drone attack on Kyiv while Washington is endeavouring to stop the more than three-year war.

A child and a 76-year-old woman were among the civilians killed in the night-time drone strike in Pavlohrad, in southeastern Ukraine, regional administration chief Serhii Lysak wrote on Telegram on Friday.

Russian forces fired 103 Shahed and decoy drones at five Ukrainian regions overnight, Ukraine's air force reported.

Authorities in the northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions reported damage to civilian infrastructure but no casualties.

The war could be approaching a pivotal moment as the Trump administration weighs its options.

Senior US officials have warned the administration could soon give up attempts to stop the war if the two sides do not come to an agreement.

That could potentially mean a halt of US military aid for Ukraine.

Amid the peace efforts, Russia pounded Kyiv in an hours-long barrage on Thursday, killing at least 12 people and injuring 87 in its deadliest assault on the Ukrainian capital since July.

The attack drew a rare rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Putin from Trump, who has said that a push to end the war is coming to a head.

"I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying." Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

"Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!"

Trump's frustration is growing as his effort to forge a deal between Ukraine and Russia has failed to achieve a breakthrough.

But Trump said in an interview with Time magazine published on Friday that the US and Russia had "had very good talks, and we're getting very close to a deal".

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff was expected to meet Putin in Moscow on Friday, their second meeting in April and the fourth since February.

Addressing a key sticking point in the negotiations, Trump said "Crimea will stay with Russia" under a US-brokered settlement, according to the interview transcript.

Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday of prolonging the "killing field" by refusing to surrender the Russia-occupied Crimea Peninsula as part of a possible deal.

Russia illegally annexed that area in 2014.

Zelenskiy has repeated many times that recognising occupied territory as Russian is a red line for his country.

Trump and Zelenskiy will fly to Rome for Saturday's funeral of Pope Francis, but it was not clear if they would meet separately.

Meanwhile, a senior Russian military officer, named as Major General Yaroslav Moskalik, was killed by a car bomb near Moscow on Friday, Russia's top criminal investigation agency said.

Since Russia invaded, several prominent figures have been killed in targeted attacks believed to have been carried out by Ukraine.

Western European leaders accuse Putin of dragging his feet in the negotiations and seeking to grab more Ukrainian land while his army has battlefield momentum.

Zelenskiy noted that Ukraine agreed to a US ceasefire proposal 44 days ago, as a first step to a negotiated peace, but that Russian attacks continued.

During recent talks, Russia hit the city of Sumy, killing more than 30 civilians gathered to celebrate Palm Sunday, battered Odesa with drones and blasted Zaporizhzhia with powerful glide bombs.