In a major escalation of the Russia Ukraine war, Moscow unleashed nearly 150 drones across Ukraine overnight into Sunday, targeting multiple regions in a coordinated drone attack. The assault came shortly after former U.S. President Donald Trump publicly questioned Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s commitment to ending the ongoing conflict.
Regional officials reported that one person was killed and a 14-year-old girl was wounded in Pavlohrad, located in the Dnipropetrovsk region, marking the third consecutive night of attacks there. Serhii Lysak, the region’s governor, confirmed the casualties.
The widespread drone attack Ukraine endured occurred just hours after Russia announced it had retaken parts of the Kursk region — an area Ukrainian forces had captured during a surprise offensive last August. However, Ukrainian officials stated that Kursk fighting is still active and far from resolved.
In a sharp reversal from earlier optimism, Trump expressed skepticism about the possibility of a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. Speaking on social media after returning to the U.S. from Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican — where he briefly met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — Trump criticized Putin’s recent military actions.
“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities, and towns over the last few days,” Trump wrote. He also hinted that more sanctions against Russia could be forthcoming, signaling tougher U.S. measures if the war persists.
The meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy was their first face-to-face encounter since a tense exchange during a White House meeting earlier this year.
The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia fired a total of 149 drones and decoys during the assault. Of these, 57 drones were shot down, and an additional 67 were successfully jammed. Drone attacks also wounded civilians in the Odesa and Zhitomir regions, local authorities confirmed.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry stated that its forces intercepted five Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk border region and three others over Crimea, the territory Russia illegally annexed in 2014.
Adding to the growing violence, five people were reported wounded in Horlivka, located in the Russian-occupied part of Donetsk, following Ukrainian shelling, according to the city’s Moscow-installed mayor, Ivan Prikhodko.
As the Russia Ukraine war continues with no clear end in sight, questions around Putin‘s intentions and the possibility of negotiations grow increasingly urgent.
