Russia and Ukraine exchanged mass drone attacks overnight, even as the two countries declared they’re ready to observe a moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure sought by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Russia sent 171 explosive-laden Shahed drones toward Ukraine, up from 145 and 137 in the previous two days, the Ukrainian Air Force command reported Thursday.
“Russian strikes on Ukraine do not stop, despite their propaganda claims,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement on social media platform X. “With each such launch, the Russians expose to the world their true attitude towards peace.”
While air defenses intercepted most of the drones, 10 people were hurt and several buildings were damaged in the central city of Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said on Telegram.
Russia downed 132 Ukrainian drones over six regions of the country, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Telegram. They included 54 drones that targeted the Saratov region and the Engels military base that the local governor described as the largest attack of the war so far.
The mutual drone assaults continued after the leaders of Ukraine and Russia said they’re willing to abide by a 30-day truce preventing strikes on each other’s power infrastructure. Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned Trump’s bid for a 30-day full ceasefire in his war on Ukraine during a phone call on Tuesday.
Zelenskyy agreed to a mutual halt to strikes on energy assets after a call with Trump the next day, calling it an initial step to ending the war started by Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The Ukrainian leader has repeatedly said U.S. involvement is needed to monitor the ceasefire effectively.
The latest attacks occurred just hours after Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said in an interview with Bloomberg Television that the partial truce on strikes against energy had come into effect, hailing it as a breakthrough that could end Moscow’s global isolation.
Russia targeted Kropyvnytskyi with 21 drones in the largest such attack on the city since the war began, regional Governor Andriy Raikovych said on Telegram. The city’s rail infrastructure was damaged, disrupting train services, Ukrainian Railways said on Telegram.
“That’s what Putin’s ceasefire looks like,” Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s top aide, said on Telegram.
The Engels military airbase has been a frequent target for Ukraine as it seeks to limit Russia’s ability to use aircraft to carry out attacks. The overnight strike by Ukrainian drones resulted in a fire and triggered explosions of ammunition stored at the site, the Ukrainian General Staff said on X.
The governor of Russia’s Saratov region said that at least two people had been hurt and about 30 buildings damaged during a drone attack. A fire at the airfield triggered evacuation of nearby residents, Roman Busargin said on Telegram.
