‘This is how Russia wants peace’

Russia pounded Ukraine overnight, killing at least eight civilians and injuring 24 others, as tensions mount ahead of scheduled high-stakes talks between President Trump and Vladimir Putin next week.

Moscow launched 47 Shahed-type drones and two missiles over the past day, according to Ukraine’s Air Force.

Kherson, a partly Russian-occupied territory just north of Crimea, suffered a brutal bus attack Saturday.

A drone struck a bus in the city’s suburbs killing two people and injuring 19 others, local authorities reported.

Then as police officers were recovering bodies of the victims, a second drone hit the vehicle, leaving three officers wounded, Ukraine’s National Police said.

“This is how Russia ‘wants peace,’” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak slammed. “An attack on a civilian bus in the suburbs of Kherson, where Russians hunt civilians every day.”

Kherson has been repeatedly targeted by Russian forces since the start of the full-scale invasion.

“Russians are fooling everyone around them, pretending that they are ready to stop the war, but doing nothing to achieve this goal,” Yermak added.

In Donetsk — the eastern Russian-occupied region Putin wants in exchange for ending the war — three people were killed, Gov. Vadym Filashkin reported.

Zelensky vowed Saturday, however, that he would not relinquish any land Russia occupied during its three-year invasion. His remarks came after President Trump said a cease-fire deal could involve “a swapping of territories” — something Putin has repeatedly pushed for.

“Everyone clearly sees Putin’s tactics. He fears sanctions and is doing everything to bail on them,” Zelensky posted on X. He wants to exchange a pause in the war, in the killings, for the legalization of the occupation of our land.

“We must end the war with a dignified peace, based on a clear and reliable security architecture. Our partners are ready to help us with this.”

European leaders countered Putin’s cease-fire demands Saturday, calling for an immediate truce from Moscow and membership in NATO for Ukraine.