(BBC) Officials report that one person lost their life and 26 others were hurt after a night filled with heavy Russian attacks across nearly every area in Kyiv.
On Friday morning, a thick cloud of smoke lingered over the Ukrainian capital after hours of nighttime filled with the sounds of air defense systems, buzzing drones, and loud explosions. Ukraine reported that Russia launched a record-breaking 539 drones and 11 missiles.
These attacks occurred just hours after a conversation between US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, where Trump expressed his disappointment that Putin was not willing to stop the war against Ukraine.
Moscow claims that the war will persist as long as it takes to achieve its goals.
According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia’s overnight air strikes set another record, with 72 out of the 539 drones getting past air defenses, surpassing the previous record of 537 drones launched last Saturday night.
Air raid sirens blared for over eight hours as multiple waves of attacks hit Kyiv, which was identified as the main target of the strikes, according to the air force on Telegram.
Videos shared on social media by Ukraine’s state emergency service showed firefighters working hard to put out fires in Kyiv following Russia’s nighttime assault.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attacks as one of the most “notably significant and cynical” assaults of the war, describing it as a “difficult, sleepless night”.
He pointed out that this happened right after Putin’s call with Trump, and added in a Telegram post: “Russia is once again showing that it has no intention of ending the war”.
Zelensky urged international allies, especially the US, to put more pressure on Moscow and enforce stricter sanctions.
Later on Friday, Zelensky and Trump had a phone conversation about the supply of US weapons, which the Ukrainian leader called a “very important and productive discussion”. This came after Washington decided to stop some shipments of essential weapons to Ukraine, including those…
