A pall of acrid smoke hung over Kyiv on Friday morning following a night of intensive Russian strikes that hit almost every district of the capital, according to Ukrainian authorities.
The hours of darkness were punctuated by the staccato of air defense guns, buzz of drones, and large explosions. Ukraine said Russia had fired a record 550 drones and 11 missiles during the long night of bombardment.
The strikes came hours after a phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, after which the US president expressed his disappointment that Putin was not ready to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. “I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, because I don’t think he’s there, and I’m very disappointed,” Trump said. “I’m just saying I don’t think he’s looking to stop, and that’s too bad.”
At least 23 people were wounded in the attacks on Kyiv, according to Ukrainian authorities, with railway infrastructure damaged and buildings and cars set ablaze across the capital. Ukraine’s foreign minister condemned “one of the worst” nights in the capital and said “Moscow must be slapped with the toughest sanctions without delay”.
Andrii Sybiha, a Ukrainian official, wrote on X, “Absolutely horrible and sleepless night in Kyiv. One of the worst so far… [Putin] does it on purpose and clearly shows his disregard for the United States and everyone who has called for an end to the war.”
The Kremlin reiterated that it would continue to seek to remove “the root causes of the war in Ukraine”. Putin has sought to return Ukraine to Russia’s sphere of influence and said last week that “the whole of Ukraine is ours”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he hoped to speak to Trump about the supply of US weapons after a decision in Washington to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine. Kyiv has warned that the move would impede its ability to defend Ukraine against escalating airstrikes and Russian advances on the frontlines.