Major Russian attack on Ukraine ‘as if nothing were changing’: Zelenskyy

It was Russia’s third-largest aerial attack this year in terms of the number of drones fired and the eighth-largest in terms of missiles, according to official Ukrainian figures.

Russia launched 574 drones and 40 ballistic and cruise missiles overnight, in one of its biggest aerial attacks on Ukraine of the year, the Ukrainian Air Force said Thursday, while a recent diplomatic push to stop the three-year war is trying to gain momentum.

The attack mostly targeted western regions of the country, the air force said, where much of the military aid provided by Ukraine’s Western allies is believed to be delivered and stored. The strikes killed at least one person and injured 15 others, according to officials.

It was Russia’s third-largest aerial attack this year in terms of the number of drones fired and the eighth-largest in terms of missiles, according to official Ukrainian figures. Most such Russian attacks have hit civilian areas.

The strikes occurred during a renewed U.S.-led effort to reach a peace settlement following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of its neighbor. U.S. President Donald Trump discussed the war with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week, and at the start of this week hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House.

Russia has fired nearly 1,000 long-range drones and missiles at Ukraine since the White House talks.

Zelenskyy condemned the overnight attack, saying it was carried out “as if nothing were changing at all.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will host a conference call Thursday with the national security advisers of European countries expected to play a role in future security guarantees for Ukraine, a senior U.S. official said.

One of Kyiv’s conditions for signing any peace deal is getting Western-backed military assurances to deter Russia from mounting another invasion in the coming years.