Russia launched a massive overnight strike on Ukraine, using 420 drones and 39 missiles, including 11 ballistic missiles, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The bombardment targeted critical infrastructure and residential areas across eight regions, leaving dozens injured, including children.
Ongoing US-Ukrainian talks
The attacks coincided with U.S.-brokered talks in Geneva between Ukrainian and American envoys aimed at ending the war, now in its fifth year. President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Zelensky, expressing support for peace efforts. Discussions focus on Ukraine’s postwar recovery, investment, and frameworks for long-term cooperation, as well as preparations for upcoming trilateral negotiations involving Russia.
Prisoner and body exchanges
Ukraine and Russia have recently exchanged bodies of fallen soldiers, with 1,000 returned to Ukraine and 35 sent back to Russia. Ukrainian officials confirmed the return of bodies that may belong to Ukrainian defenders. Zelensky also tasked Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, with negotiating a possible prisoner exchange.
Impact of attacks
Russian strikes targeted gas infrastructure in the Poltava region and electrical substations in Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Emergency services responded in five other regions and the capital. Ukraine’s air defences intercepted most of the missiles, with Western-supplied systems credited for timely protection.
Ukraine seeks more aid
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called for increased military aid, highlighting that Russia continues attacks despite global demands for Moscow to end the war. Ukraine also uses domestically developed long-range drones to strike strategic targets inside Russia.
Russian claims
The Russian Defense Ministry reported intercepting 17 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and the Black and Azov Seas. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has claimed, without evidence, that European nations plan to supply Kyiv with nuclear weapons. British and French officials have rejected these allegations as false.
The overnight Russia Ukraine attack underscores the ongoing intensity of the conflict, even as diplomatic efforts continue to seek a resolution.
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