US President Donald Trump said Russia just wanted to “keep killing people” and hinted at sanctions after Moscow launched its largest ever drone and missile attack on Ukraine in the three-year-old war.
Trump on Friday said he was “very unhappy” about his telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding that “he wants to go all the way, just keep killing people, it’s no good.”
The US president said he and Putin talked about sanctions “a lot,” adding: “He understands that it may be coming.”
Photo: AP
Hours-long Russian bombardments sent Ukrainians heading for shelters across the country and came after the call between Trump and Putin, which ended without a breakthrough.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also spoke to Trump on Friday and said they agreed to work on bolstering Kyiv’s defenses.
“We spoke about opportunities in air defense and agreed that we will work together to strengthen protection of our skies,” Zelenskiy wrote on social media after the call.
Tymur, a Kyiv resident who had experienced previous Russian attacks, said that the assault early on Friday felt different.
“Nothing like this attack had ever happened before. There have never been so many explosions,” he said.
The Kremlin on Friday said it was “preferable” to achieve the goals of its invasion through political and diplomatic means.
“But as long as that is not possible, we are continuing the special operation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, referring to Russia’s invasion.
At least three people were wounded in Russian drone and artillery strikes on several parts of Eastern Ukraine overnight to yesterday, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak said on Telegram.
In Kyiv, one person was pulled from the rubble after the strikes, which also wounded at least 26 people, emergency services said.
The barrage comprised 539 drones and 11 missiles, the air force said. A representative of Ukraine’s air force said that the attack was the largest of the Russian invasion.
Zelenskiy said air alerts began echoing out across the country as the Trump-Putin call was getting underway.
He urged the US to increase pressure on Moscow, which on Friday announced fresh territorial gains.
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