Russia fires more than 100 drones at Ukraine following Trump-Putin phone call
Moscow fired more than 100 drones into Ukraine overnight following the conclusion of President Trump’s phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kyiv said.The Ukrainian Air Force recorded 108 UAVs soaring across the border Monday night, causing damage across four regions in the latest aerial clash after Trump touted that peace talks would “immediately” resume between Moscow and Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia’s latest assault was clear evidence that Putin has no intention of ending the bloodshed, accusing the Kremlin head of wanting to conquer as much territory as possible.“It is obvious that Russia is trying to buy time in order to continue its war and occupation,” Zelensky said in a statement Tuesday.
The overnight drone strike saw Ukraine’s Air Force shoot down at least 35 UAVs, with another 58 successfully jammed and neutralized while mid-flight, Kyiv said.The attack came just two days after the Kremlin fired a record 273 exploding drones into Ukraine, killing at least one woman in Kyiv, local officials said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that it also shot down eight Ukrainian drones during the skirmish.The cross-border drone exchange occurred just after Trump concluded his two-hour phone call with Putin over the war in Ukraine, which has raged on for more than three years.
Despite Trump’s claim that cease-fire talks would restart right away, Putin doubled down in rejecting the US-backed cease-fire agreement, saying Moscow was not ready to sit down for talks until the “root cause” of the war was addressed.Russia has also shown no hints that it will make any concessions in the peace talks, with Moscow demanding full annexation of all the Ukrainian territories it is currently occupying, as well as the demilitarization of Ukraine.Putin has also demanded that Ukraine be permanently blocked from ever joining NATO, a condition Zelensky has slammed as a non-starter given that it remains his country’s bes...