Putin hits Ukraine with largest barrage of war after Trump call
President Donald Trump said he had made no progress with Vladimir Putin on ending the war in a call, as the Kremlin insisted Russia would pursue its war aims.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the air alerts had begun echoing out across the country as reports of the presidents' call emerged.
"Yet again, Russia is showing it has no intention of ending the war and terror," Zelensky said on social media.
"All of this is clear evidence that without truly large-scale pressure, Russia will not change its dumb, destructive behaviour," he added, urging the United States in particular to ramp up pressure on Moscow.
He said that 23 people were wounded in the Russian barrage that the air force said included 539 Russian drones of various types and 11 missiles.
A representative of Ukraine's air force told Ukrainian media that the attack was the largest of the Russian invasion.
'Complete disregard'
Overnight Russia attacks have escalated over recent weeks. An AFP tally shows Moscow launched a record number of drones and missiles at Ukraine in June, as direct peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow appeared to stall.
"Putin clearly shows his complete disregard for the United States and everyone who has called for an end to the war," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga wrote on social media after the attack.
In Kyiv, AFP journalists saw dozens of residents of the capital taking shelter in a metro station.
Russian attacks escalated as concerns mount in Kyiv over continued delivery of US military aid, which is key to Ukraine's ability to fend off the drone and missile barrages.
The US announced this week that it was reducing some deliveries of military aid to Ukraine, in what EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said was a clear signal that the bloc needed to "step up".
Trump's view of the call with Putin was unusually bleak. After most of his previous five calls with Putin since returning to power in January he has given optimistic reports of progress towards a deal.
But he has shown increasing frustration with Putin after an early pivot towards the Russian leader.
Ukraine has also ramped up its drone strikes in Russia, where a woman was killed when a Ukrainian drone crashed into an apartment building, the region's acting governor said.
© 2025 AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
6 hours ago
- Euronews
Zelenskyy and Trump agree on joint defence efforts in key phone call
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke on Friday with US President Donald Trump, in what the Ukrainian leader said was a "very important and fruitful" phone call. "Today we discussed the current situation, including Russian airstrikes and the broader frontline developments," Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X. "President Trump is very well informed, and I thank him for his attention to Ukraine. We spoke about opportunities in air defence and agreed that we will work together to strengthen protection of our skies. We have also agreed to a meeting between our teams." He added that they also discussed in detail the prospects for joint defence production. "We - in Ukraine - are grateful for all the support provided. It helps us protect lives, safeguard our freedom and independence." "We have achieved a lot together with America and we support all efforts to stop the killings and restore just, lasting, and dignified peace. A noble agreement for peace is needed," Zelenskyy pointed out. The Ukrainian leader added they discussed the possibility of joint defence production, mutual purchases, and investments. Neither the White House nor Trump himself have said anything about the call. Trump speaks to Putin That conversation comes a day after Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Ukraine, Iran and other issues in a call the Kremlin described as "frank and constructive." It was their sixth publicly disclosed talk since Trump returned to the White House. On the war in Ukraine, Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said Trump emphasised his push for a quick halt to the fighting, and Putin voiced Moscow's readiness to pursue talks with Kyiv, noting the previous rounds in Turkey yielded humanitarian results. At the same time, the Russian leader said Moscow will seek to achieve its goals in Ukraine and remove the "root causes" of the conflict, Ushakov said. "Russia will not back down from these goals," Ushakov told reporters after the call. Also on Thursday, Trump complained that the United States provided too many weapons to Ukraine under the previous administration, his first public comments on the pause in some shipments as Russia escalates its full-scale invasion. On Tuesday, the US said it was halting shipments of some air defence missiles and other weapons previously promised to Kyiv amid concerns that its own stockpiles had declined too much, according to officials. Certain munitions were previously promised to Ukraine under the Biden administration to support its defences. However, the administration appears to have revised some of those decisions due to concerns for US interests. "This decision was made to put America's interests first following a review of our nation's military support and assistance to other countries across the globe," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement.
France 24
6 hours ago
- France 24
Access to documents is crucial for transparency and a strong democracy: EU Ombudswoman
We ask Anjinho about the increase in complaints to the Ombudsman where public access to documents has been denied. "So let's look at the bright side first," she answers. "If we have a rise in complaints, this is positive because in a way people are aware of the existence of the office and are also aware of their rights. Now the not-so-bright side is that, well, if they are complaining, it's because what we are promising in terms of citizens' participation is not being complied with. It's the gap between expectations and reality. And you rightly pointed out a very important issue of transparency. We did have a rise of 42.2 percent in complaints last year, related mainly to access to documents. I think we do have room for improvement. It's clear that we need a framework that is more compliant with the needs of citizens, because access to documents goes hand in hand with a stronger democracy." We talk about the undisclosed text messages between EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the CEO of Pfizer during the Covid-19 pandemic. Anjinho says that she raised "Pfizergate" during a meeting with von der Leyen in June. "It was important for me to pass the message that this is a very important issue for my office," Anjinho states. "The ruling of the (EU General) Court was very clear in terms of good administration. And it implicitly recognised that text messages are documents. The court was also clear that the Commission should have done more in saying if it has the messages or not, if the messages were deleted automatically, or if it changed the mobile. So these questions will have to be addressed by the Commission, and hopefully they are committed to addressing them and being compliant with the court cases." Anjinho has spoken about the importance of responsible lobbying, in the light of recurring scandals such as " Qatargate" and "Huaweigate". "We do have an integrity framework, and many institutions are doing their best to strengthen this integrity framework," she says. "However, when we have scandals like "Qatargate" and "Huaweigate" – that is actually pending a case in the Belgian courts – they damage the trust in and the reputation of the European Union as a whole, and you forget about all the efforts that the institutions are making." We point out that the EU Parliament's Constitutional Affairs Committee blocked the independent EU ethics body mooted after "Qatargate", in a recent committee vote. "I believe [the ethics body] is a good idea because it establishes a body that is competent to have common standards between all institutions, including the Council," Anjinho responds. "However, what the citizen should also recognise is that this independent ethics body [would not] have the competence to receive complaints. But there are important institutions that do have this competence, namely the European Ombudsman. And I actually aim to guarantee that my office is recognised as a reference institution for integrity issues."
France 24
7 hours ago
- France 24
Trump agrees to work with Kyiv on strengthening air defences, Zelensky says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday he agreed with US counterpart Donald Trump to work to strengthen Ukraine's air defences, as concerns mounted in Kyiv over continued US military aid deliveries. "We spoke about opportunities in air defence and agreed that we will work together to strengthen protection of our skies," Zelensky said on social media after speaking on the phone with Trump. "We had a detailed conversation about defense industry capabilities and joint production. We are ready for direct projects with the United States and believe this is critically important for security, especially when it comes to drones and related technologies," he said. to Ukraine.
