The attacks came hours after Russia claimed to have regained control over the remaining parts of the Kursk region that Ukrainian forces seized in a surprise incursion in August 2024. Meanwhile, Trump has voiced fresh doubts about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s desire to end the war.
Russia launched a massive wave of drone attacks and airstrikes across Ukraine on Sunday, leaving at least four people dead, according to officials. The escalation came shortly after US President Donald Trump publicly questioned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin’s willingness to end the ongoing conflict. In the eastern Donetsk region, airstrikes on the city of Kostyantynivka claimed the lives of three people and left four others injured, the regional prosecutor’s office confirmed.
Meanwhile, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, a drone strike on the city of Pavlohrad — targeted for the third night in a row — resulted in the death of one person and wounded a 14-year-old girl, Governor Serhii Lysak stated. The fresh wave of attacks coincided with Russia’s claims of having regained full control over parts of the Kursk region that Ukrainian forces had seized during a surprise offensive in August 2024. However, Ukrainian officials stated that fierce fighting in the Kursk region was still ongoing, indicating that the situation on the ground remains highly volatile.
Trump questions Putin’s peace intentions
Earlier on Saturday, Trump said he doubts Putin wants to end the more than three-year-old war, expressing new scepticism a peace deal can be reached soon.Only a day earlier, Trump had said Ukraine and Russia were “very close to a deal”. “There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump wrote in a social media post as he flew back to the US after attending the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican, where he met briefly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump also hinted at further sanctions against Russia.
Later on Sunday evening, as he left his golf club in New Jersey, Trump told reporters he remained “disappointed” in Russia’s attacks. Trump said of Putin, “I want him to stop shooting, sit down and make a deal.” Asked what he would do if Russia does not stop its attacks, Trump replied, “I have a lot of things that I can do.”
Trump, Zelenskyy meet in Vatican
The Vatican Trump-Zelenskyy conversation was the first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders since their heated Oval Office meeting at the White House on February 28. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the coming week would be “very critical”, and that the US would need to “make a determination about whether this is an endeavour that we want to continue to be involved in”.
(With PTI inputs)
