Russia kills 4 in heavy blitz on Donetsk, as Kremlin dashes hope of resuming peace talks

Russia slammed Ukraine with bombings overnight killing at least four civilians, while continuing to target areas in the key battleground Donetsk region — just one day after the Kremlin all but dashed hopes for an end to the war.

The city of Kostiantynivka was shelled for nearly an hour with rockets, destroying 14 homes in a residential district, Donetsk Prosecutor’s Office said.

Three civilians died and seven others were injured in the Russian onslaught.

The industrial eastern city has been under constant attack in recent weeks, with strikes destroying critical infrastructure and leaving many residents without electricity and water.

The barrage comes as Russian forces have focused in on the coveted Donetsk region, which has been described as “the ball game” in the deadly conflict.

Further north in Kharkiv, one man was also killed and two others injured in another overnight attack, with bombs and rockets destroying homes and farms, Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office said.

The Saturday strikes come just one day after a Kremlin spokesperson said peace negotiations were “on pause,” while slamming Europe’s promise of post-war security guarantees for Ukraine as a dealbreaker toward talks.

“The fact that the Europeans are hindering this is indeed true,” said spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. “This is not a secret to anyone.

“For now, it is probably more accurate to say that there is a pause.”

Delegation for the warring countries have not met for talks since July, despite a push from President Trump and the US.

“One cannot simply put on rose-tinted glasses and expect that the negotiation process will yield lightning-fast results,” Peskov added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeated his belief that Russian President Vladimir Putin will only come to the table when his war chest is empty.

“The Russian war machine will only stop when it runs out of fuel,” Zelenskyy said at a conference Friday. “And Putin will start to stop it himself when he feels, truly, that the resources for the war are running low.”

Meanwhile, NATO is shoring up its defenses on Europe’s eastern flank — deploying new military equipment from France, Germany, the UK and Denmark to ward off potential Russian aggression.

The launch, known as “Eastern Sentry,” adds fighter jets, a frigate and ground defense systems, and comes in response to Moscow’s drones entering Polish airspace Wednesday — an incursion seen as a deliberate threat to NATO by the Russian tyrant.

“The key to this is an entirely new defense design,” US Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the alliance’s supreme commander in Europe, told reporters Friday.

With wires