Russia unleashes 150-drone barrage on Ukraine amid Trump’s doubts on Putin’s peace intent
Kyiv: Russia carried out a sweeping drone assault across Ukraine overnight into Sunday, targeting multiple regions, following comments by US President Donald Trump casting doubt over Russian President Vladimir Putin's willingness to end the ongoing war.
In the city of Pavlohrad, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, one person was killed and a 14-year-old girl was injured in the latest wave of attacks. The city had already been hit for the third consecutive night, regional Governor Serhii Lysak reported.
The strikes came just hours after Russia claimed to have regained control of the remaining parts of the Kursk region, which Ukrainian forces had seized in a surprise incursion last August. Ukrainian officials, however, maintained that fighting in Kursk was still ongoing.
In his remarks on Saturday, Trump expressed new scepticism regarding the possibility of a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, stating that he doubted Putin’s commitment to ending the war. Just a day earlier, Trump had claimed that Ukraine and Russia were "very close to a deal."
In a social media post, Trump also questioned the rationale behind Russia’s missile strikes on civilian areas, cities, and towns in recent days, suggesting further sanctions on Russia could be on the horizon.
The conversation between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took place during the Vatican’s funeral of Pope Francis, marking their first face-to-face meeting since their heated exchange in late February at the White House.
Meanwhile, Russia launched 149 explosive drones and decoys in the latest wave of attacks, according to the Ukrainian air force, which reported intercepting 57 and jamming another 67 of the drones.
Other parts of Ukraine also faced drone assaults. In the Odesa region, one person was injured, while another was wounded in Zhytomyr. In Kherson, a Russian airstrike on Sunday morning left four people injured, local officials said.
Russia's Defence Ministry also reported shooting down five Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk region, near the border, and three drones over the Crimean peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.
In retaliation, Ukrainian forces shelled the city of Horlivka in the partially occupied Donetsk region, wounding five people, according to Ivan Prikhodko, the city's Russian-installed mayor.