KYIV, Ukraine — A thick pall of acrid smoke blanketed Kyiv on Friday morning, following an intense night of Russian strikes that reportedly impacted nearly every district of the capital, according to Ukrainian authorities.
The hours of darkness were once again punctuated by the relentless staccato of air defense guns, the unsettling buzz of drones, and thunderous explosions. Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched a record 550 drones and 11 missiles during the prolonged overnight bombardment.
These extensive strikes occurred just hours after a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, following which Trump expressed his “disappointment” that Putin was not prepared to end the war against Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russian officials reported that a woman was killed in Russia due to Ukrainian drone attacks, specifically in a village near the Ukrainian border in the southern Rostov region, according to its acting governor.
Ukraine’s air force confirmed that Russia’s overnight air strikes broke another record, with 72 of the 550 drones successfully penetrating air defenses, surpassing the previous record of 537 launched last Saturday night. Air raid alerts blared for over eight hours as multiple waves of attacks targeted Kyiv, which the air force, via the Telegram messaging app, identified as the “main target of the strikes.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned what he described as one of the war’s most “demonstratively significant and cynical” attacks, characterizing it as a “harsh, sleepless night.”
Noting that the assault immediately followed Putin’s call with Trump, Zelensky added in a Telegram post: “Russia once again demonstrates that it does not intend to end the war.” He appealed to international allies, particularly the US, to escalate pressure on Moscow and impose more stringent sanctions.
Footage shared on social media by Ukraine’s state emergency service depicted firefighters bravely battling blazes across Kyiv in the aftermath of Russia’s large-scale overnight assault.
Ukrainian authorities reported that at least 23 people were wounded in the Kyiv attacks, with railway infrastructure damaged and schools, buildings, and cars set ablaze across the capital.
Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, confirmed damage to the Polish embassy. Beyond Kyiv, the Russian strikes also targeted the regions of Sumy, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv.
Friday’s attacks represent the latest in a series of major Russian air strikes on Ukraine, which have intensified in recent weeks amidst stalled ceasefire talks.
The conflict in Ukraine has now raged for over three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Following his conversation with Putin on Thursday, Trump stated that “no progress” had been made towards ending the fighting.
“I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, because I don’t think he’s there, and I’m very disappointed,” Trump remarked. “I’m just saying I don’t think he’s looking to stop, and that’s too bad.”
The Kremlin, for its part, reiterated its intention to continue seeking to remove “the root causes of the war in Ukraine,” with Putin having previously asserted last week that “the whole of Ukraine is ours.”
Also Read: Russia unleashes record drone and missile barrage on Ukraine
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his hope to speak with Trump on Thursday regarding the supply of US weapons, following a decision in Washington to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Kyiv has cautioned that this move would impede its ability to defend against escalating airstrikes and Russian advances on the frontlines.
Speaking to reporters, Trump asserted, “we’re giving weapons” and “we haven’t” completely paused the flow of weapons. He attributed the situation to former President Joe Biden, whom he blamed for “emptying out our whole country giving them weapons, and we have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves.”
