Ukraine has been hit by one of the largest Russian air assaults in weeks, with officials reporting 574 drones and 40 missiles launched overnight.
The Ukrainian air force said it intercepted most of them 577 in total but some got through. One person was killed in the western city of Lviv, and 15 others were injured in Transcarpathia after missiles struck the region close to Hungary and Slovakia.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the attacks showed why international efforts to end the war were “so critical.”
Zelensky Open to Meeting Putin
The strikes come as US President Donald Trump pushes for talks to halt the conflict. Trump recently met Vladimir Putin in Alaska and then hosted Volodymyr Zelensky along with European leaders at the White House.
Zelensky has said he is ready to meet Putin “in neutral Europe,” suggesting Switzerland or Austria, and even floated Istanbul as an option. But he dismissed Budapest as a possible venue, saying Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s close ties with Moscow make it “not easy today.”
Trump initially proposed trilateral talks with himself, Putin, and Zelensky, but later hinted he might step aside. “Now I think it would be better if they met without me,” he said, adding he would join if needed.
Details of the Attack
Ukraine’s air force described the overnight assault as the biggest since July. It said Russia used hypersonic, ballistic, and cruise missiles, launched from western Russia, the Black Sea, and Crimea.
In Lviv, the strikes damaged more than 20 civilian buildings, including homes and a nursery. In Mukachevo, Transcarpathia, missiles hit a US electronics plant that produces coffee machines and household goods. Authorities confirmed at least 15 people were injured there.
Russia usually targets eastern Ukraine, but this time its missiles reached deep into the west. Since the invasion began in 2022, Russia has seized much of the Donbas region and still controls around a fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea.
Fighting and Diplomacy
On Thursday, Zelensky told reporters there was still no sign that Moscow was serious about negotiations. He also warned that Russian forces were massing in Zaporizhzhia, one of the four regions Moscow claims as its own.
Ukraine, meanwhile, claimed new strikes inside Russia, including an oil refinery in the Rostov region and a drone depot in occupied Donetsk.
Despite heavy fighting, front lines have barely shifted in recent months. With the ground war largely stuck, Russia has stepped up air attacks while global powers try to push peace talks forward.
Ukraine suffered its worst aerial bombardment in July, when 728 drones and 13 missiles were launched in multiple waves.
After this latest assault, Kyiv once again called on its allies to send more air defence systems to protect its cities.
