The purpose of their offensive actions—which have started in recent days and are planned on other fronts—is to create pressure for favorable positions at the negotiation table,” Zelenskyy said during a briefing.

In the aftermath of the strike, Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the U.S. and Europe to get tough on Russia in response to what he described as terrorism.

The defence ministry said its forces had fired "two Iskander-M tactical missiles at the meeting venue" of what it called an operational tactical group of Ukraine's armed forces. It said that more than 60 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the strike.