Russia focused Ukraine in a single day with 574 drones and 40 missiles, the Ukrainian Air Drive stated. A lot of the weapons had been intercepted by Ukraine’s air defenses, however the large assault was removed from uncommon, and officers stated at the least one individual was killed and 15 injured.
Ukrainian officers stated the Russian assault hit vitality infrastructure, non-public properties, an American electronics manufacturing unit — the place President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated the 15 accidents had been sustained, and a kindergarten.
“Last night, the Russian army set one of its insane anti-records. They struck civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, and our people,” Zelenskyy stated in a message posted on social media. He referred to as the electronics plant an “American investment” and an “ordinary civilian enterprise” producing “everyday items as coffee machines.”
“This is also a target for the Russians. Very telling. The fire is still being extinguished at the enterprise. As of now, 15 people are known to have been affected by this strike. All of them have been provided with the necessary assistance,” he stated.
Emergency providers and firefighting groups work on the scene after a Russian missile assault hit a U.S.-owned manufacturing unit in Zakarpattia, Ukraine, Aug. 21, 2025.
Ukrainian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu/Getty
Alluding to President Trump’s efforts to dealer a peace deal to finish the battle, together with the bilateral summit between Mr. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin only a week earlier, Zelenskyy condemned Moscow for launching the brand new strike “as if nothing had changed at all. As if there were no efforts by the world to stop this war.”
“A response is needed,” he added. “So far, there has been no signal from Moscow that they are really going to engage in meaningful negotiations and end this war. Pressure is needed. Strong sanctions, strong tariffs.”
There was a whole lot of speak — outdoors of Ukraine — a few peace deal amid Mr. Trump’s ramped-up diplomacy. However inside Ukraine, folks proceed to reside and die in a battle zone greater than three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Many within the nation, like their president, merely don’t imagine that Putin actually desires to finish the battle. They suppose he’s simply taking part in together with the ceasefire narrative to keep away from angering Mr. Trump.
Within the meantime, Putin’s military continues to broaden its large seizure of territory in jap Ukraine. The Russian protection ministry claimed Thursday that forces had captured yet one more village in Ukraine’s jap Donetsk area.
That’s the reason Ukraine desires safety ensures — a promise of safety from the U.S. and its NATO allies within the occasion Russia ought to invade once more after any eventual ceasefire is carried out.
President Trump has been adamant that such a assure wouldn’t contain U.S. boots on the bottom, and Vice President JD Vance stated Wednesday that Europe must bear a lot of the prices.
Getting all sides, together with Russia, to comply with these safety ensures could also be subsequent to unimaginable, nevertheless. After his assembly with Putin, Mr. Trump met with Zelenskyy and European leaders in Washington to carry separate talks, and stated he was engaged on organizing a direct summit between the Ukrainian and Russian leaders.
However Moscow has downplayed the prospects of a Putin-Zelenskyy summit any time quickly, and officers have stated Russia needs to be included in any looming discussions on safety ensures for Ukraine.
In a submit on his personal social media platform, Mr. Trump stated Thursday — with out mentioning the newest violence within the battle — that it was “very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders country. … There is no chance of winning! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia.”
Mr. Trump stated his predecessor, Joe Biden “would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND.” He added, with none additional clarification, that there have been “Interesting times ahead!!!”
In November, simply weeks earlier than he handed the presidency again to Mr. Trump, Biden modified the longstanding coverage that had successfully barred Ukraine from utilizing U.S.-supplied missiles to strike deep in Russia.
The French authorities issued an announcement Thursday condemning the newest Russian missile and drone assault on Ukraine, and backing Zelenskyy’s assertion that it belied Putin’s acknowledged curiosity in a peace settlement.
“While Russia claims to be ready to negotiate, it continues at the same time its deadly attacks on Ukrainian territory,” stated the assertion, attributed to a deputy spokesperson for the French International Ministry. “These attacks, the most massive in a month, illustrate Russia’s lack of any genuine intention to engage seriously in peace talks. They once again underscore the urgent need to put an end to the killings, and therefore to maintain and step up pressure on Russia. France reiterates its support for President Trump’s initiative in favor of a just and lasting peace and will continue to work with determination alongside Ukraine and its partners.”
Margaret Brennan and
Erin Lyall
contributed to this report.
