Ukraine suffers the greatest Russian air attack since the beginning of the war hours after Trump launched harsh criticism against Putin

Firefighters fight a fire in Kyiv after Russian attacks — Photo foot, Russia launched hundreds of drones and 13 missiles against the Ukrainian territory in the early morning.

- Author, Laura Gozzi
- Author's title, BBC News
1 hour

Ukraine suffered on Wednesday the largest Russian air attack since the war began more than three years ago.

Kyiv and other cities throughout the country were attacked with 728 drones and 13 missiles, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, which claimed to have intercepted 711 drones and destroyed seven missiles.

President Volodymyr Zelensky described the fact as a “revealing attack” of the Russian indisposition to stop war.

“It occurs precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace, to establish a high fire, and yet Russia continues to reject them all,” he wrote on his social networks.

Although the east of the country and Kyiv are subject to regular attacks, none of the other regions of Ukraine, including western ones, have been exempt from the Russian offensive.

The city of Lutsk, located 90 km from the border with Poland and transit center for military and humanitarian aid, was the most affected by Tuesday's night attack.

Explosions were also registered in the western cities of Lviv and Rivne.

In Kyiv explosions and drones were heard flying over the capital during the bombing, after the anti -aircraft sirens sounded.

For their part, the Russian authorities have affirmed that an attack with Ukrainian drones in the border region of Kursk caused death to three people and injured to seven others on Tuesday.

A representative of the Ukrainian Air Force told the AFP agency that the new Ukrainian drones had played an important role in frustrating the Russian attack. Another official said that most of the Russian drones launched were lures.

The night attack occurred after President Donald Trump ensured that the United States would send more weapons to Ukraine, which is a change regarding the suspension of the supply that was announced in Washington last week.

The US president also launched harsh criticism against Putin.

Firefighters extinguish a fire in Kyiv — Photo foot, Some drones and missiles hit buildings in Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine.

Trump's frustration

On Tuesday, the US president expressed his growing frustration with the Russian president: “If you want to know the truth, Putin tells us many nonsense,” Trump told the press. “He is always very kind to us, but in the end it turns out that it makes no sense.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was “quite quiet” with the statements arising from the White House. “The way of talking about Trump is, in general, quite hard, the phrases he uses.”

The two leaders have maintained regular contact, but so far this has not translated into tangible measures to achieve a high fire in Ukraine, something Trump said in his campaign for the presidency that he could get in one day.

Last week, after a telephone conversation with Putin, Trump said he was “very discontent.”

“He wants to get to the end, keep killing people, that's not right,” he said.

Criticisms occurred even when the suspension of military aid to Ukraine was announced, allegedly authorized by the US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, and Elbridge Colby, Undersecretary of Defense.

When journalists asked him on Tuesday who had made the decision, Trump, sitting right next to Hegesh, replied: “I don't know. Why don't you tell me?”

According to the American media Axios, the revocation of the decision could involve the sending of 10 patriot missiles to Ukraine.

Kyiv depends on the interceptors to try to counteract the attacks with missiles and drones of Russia, which continue to increase in intensity and frequency.

Donald Trump at a bilateral meeting with Israel — Photo foot, Trump expressed frustration for the few advances in a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

Possible sanctions to Russia

On Tuesday, Trump also said he was “studying” a draft sanctions law of Republican senator Lindsey Graham that would impose tariffs of 500% to countries that have trade agreements with Russia.

Trump has been threatening Moscow with sanctions since he assumed the position in January, but until now he has not imposed any. In June, he declared that the sanctions “cost a lot of money” and said he was waiting to see if an agreement was signed between Russia and Ukraine.

However, last week, the US president said he and Putin had talked about the sanctions and added: “He understands that they can arrive.”

Earlier this year two rounds of conversations were held on a possible fire between Russia and Ukraine, but so far no more meetings have been scheduled, and neither Moscow nor Kyiv seem optimistic that diplomacy can resolve the conflict, which was triggered with the large -scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022.

“We are moving forward,” Peskov said on Wednesday. “Every new day, Ukrainians have to accept new realities.”