State Dept confirms death of US citizen in Ukraine, condemns strikes

By Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States condemns an attack overnight on Kyiv, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said on Tuesday, confirming the death of a U.S. citizen in Ukraine.

"We are aware of last night's attack on Kyiv, which resulted in numerous casualties, including the tragic death of a U.S. citizen. We condemn those strikes and extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected," Bruce told a news briefing.

Bruce declined to give further details out of respect for the family.

Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, early on Tuesday said a U.S. citizen had died during an overnight air attack on the city, writing on the Telegram messaging app that the 62-year-old American was pronounced dead by doctors in the city. He gave no other details.

Russia flattened a section of an apartment block in Kyiv on Tuesday, its deadliest attack on the Ukrainian capital this year, as a huge barrage of hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles killed at least 16 people and wounded 134.

Ukrainian officials declared a day of mourning on Wednesday for victims of what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described as one of the most horrific attacks on the capital during the war.

Russian troops are pressing on with a grinding advance in eastern Ukraine and have opened a new front in the Sumy region in the northeast, despite calls for a ceasefire from U.S. President Donald Trump, whose efforts to bring an end to the war have faltered.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Chris Reese and Alistair Bell)