Russia has launched its “largest-ever” drone and missile attack on Ukraine just hours after President Donald Trump shared a ‘disappointing’ phone call with his Russian counterpart, during which “no progress” was made to end the war.
The attack – Russia’s largest aerial strike since the start of the three-year invasion – saw Moscow fire a record 550 drones and 11 missiles at Ukraine on Thursday night into Friday local time, according to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 23 people were wounded in the Russian barrage, with air alerts beginning to echo out across the country as reports of the Presidents’ call emerged.
“Yet again, Russia is showing it has no intention of ending the war and terror,” Mr Zelensky wrote on social media.
“All of this is clear evidence that without truly large-scale pressure, Russia will not change its dumb, destructive behaviour,” he added, urging the US in particular to ramp up pressure on Moscow.
A representative of Ukraine’s air force told Ukrainian media that the attack was the largest of the Russian invasion.
‘Complete disregard’
Taking to social media after the attack, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha slammed Mr Putin for “his complete disregard”, saying Kyiv experienced an “absolutely horrible and sleepless night”.
“Right after Putin spoke with President Trump. And he does it on purpose. Enough of waiting!” he wrote on X.
“Putin clearly shows his complete disregard for the United States and everyone who has called for an end to the war.”
In Kyiv, AFP journalists saw dozens of residents of the capital taking shelter in a metro station.
Overnight, Russia attacks have escalated over recent weeks as concerns mount in Kyiv over the continued delivery of US military aid, which is key to Ukraine’s ability to fend off the drone and missile barrages.
An AFP tally shows Moscow launched a record number of drones and missiles at Ukraine in June, as direct peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow appeared to stall.
‘Very disappointed’: Trump said he made no progress with Putin on call
The strike came hours after Mr Trump said he made no progress with Mr Putin on ending the war during a phone conversation on Thursday, which left him “very disappointed”.
“It was a pretty long call, we talked about a lot of things including Iran, and we also talked about, as you know, the war with Ukraine. And I’m not happy about that,” the US President told reporters before boarding Air Force One for a flight to Iowa.
Asked if he had moved closer to a deal to end the war, Mr Trump replied: “No, I didn’t make any progress with him at all.”
He later told reporters on his return to Washington from Iowa: “I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, because I don’t think he’s there.”
“I don’t think he’s looking to stop and that’s too bad,” he added.
Mr Trump’s view of the call was unusually bleak. After most of his previous five calls with Mr Putin since returning to power in January, he has given optimistic reports of progress towards a deal.
But he has shown increasing frustration with Mr Putin after an early pivot towards the Russian leader.
In recent weeks, he knocked back Mr Putin’s offer to mediate in the Iran-Israel conflict, telling him to focus on the Ukraine war instead.
In Moscow, the Kremlin said the call lasted almost an hour and said that Putin had insisted he would not give up on Russia’s goals.
“Our president said that Russia will achieve the aims it set, that is to say the elimination of the root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
“Russia will not give up on these aims.”
Moscow has long described its maximalist aims in Ukraine as getting rid of the “root causes” of the conflict, demanding that Kyiv give up its NATO ambitions.
Mr Trump’s grim assessment came as US-led peace talks on ending the more than three-year-old conflict in Ukraine have stalled, and after Washington paused some weapons shipments to Kyiv.
Moscow’s war in Ukraine has killed hundreds of thousands of people since it invaded in February 2022, and Russia now controls large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine.