Russia carried out its most extensive attack against Ukraine this month, occurring concurrently with the Ukrainian President’s meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders at the White House.
The assault also transpired after the Russian President’s meeting with Trump in Alaska last Friday. During that encounter, Putin declined an immediate ceasefire and stipulated that Ukraine surrender its eastern Donetsk region to conclude the conflict that originated with Moscow’s February 2022 invasion. Trump later stated he had discussed, via phone with Putin, arrangements for a meeting between the Russian president and Zelenskyy.
Ukraine’s air force indicated that Russia deployed 270 drones and 10 missiles into Ukraine between Monday night and Tuesday, with 230 drones and six missiles being successfully intercepted or neutralized. The air force further reported that 40 drones and four missiles impacted 16 different sites, and wreckage reportedly landed on three locations.
“While strenuous efforts to advance peace were ongoing in Washington, D.C. … Moscow persisted in actions antithetical to peace: more strikes and devastation,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha conveyed on X. “This once again underscores the crucial need to cease the bloodshed, achieve a durable peace, and secure robust security assurances.”
According to Ukraine’s Energy Ministry, energy infrastructure within the central Poltava region was among the objectives of the assaults. Officials did not promptly disclose casualty numbers.
“Large-scale fires erupted as a consequence of the attack,” the ministry confirmed in a statement.
The ministry additionally reported that oil refining and gas facilities were targeted, characterizing these strikes as the newest in a series of “systematic terrorist attacks against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which constitutes a direct breach of international humanitarian law.”
The air force noted that this attack marked the largest since Russia deployed 309 drones and eight missiles into Ukraine on July 31.
Russia’s Defense Ministry stated that its forces downed 23 targets between Monday night and Tuesday morning.
Both parties have consistently aimed at infrastructure, notably including oil facilities.
Zelenskyy had previously condemned Moscow for earlier Monday strikes, which occurred before his White House meeting and resulted in at least 14 fatalities and dozens of injuries.
“The Russian war apparatus persists in destroying lives regardless. Putin intends to carry out demonstrative killings to sustain pressure on Ukraine and Europe, and simultaneously to undermine diplomatic initiatives. This is precisely the reason we are pursuing assistance to bring an end to the killings,” he communicated on X Monday morning.
Reuters provided contributions to this report.