A Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine has killed at least one person and wounded 18 others, officials said, as Moscow launched its largest attack on its neighbor in weeks amid an ongoing diplomatic push for a ceasefire.
Russian forces launched 574 drones and 40 missiles overnight, Ukraine’s Air Force said on Thursday, adding that its air defense units had downed most of the attacks.
However, a number of the attacks struck targets in several locations across Ukraine, resulting in casualties and damage to buildings.
In the western city of Lviv, about 70km (43 miles) from the border with Poland, a drone and missile attack killed one person, injured three, and damaged 26 residential buildings, Governor Maksym Kozytskyi said.
In Mukachevo, near the border with Hungary and Slovakia, 15 people were wounded in Russian attacks, local authorities said. The strike also destroyed storage facilities at a US electronics manufacturer in the town, the Reuters news agency reported.
Television footage showed the building at the plant, which regional Governor Myroslav Biletskyi said produced consumer electronics, engulfed in smoke.
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha condemned the attack, saying it was a “fully civilian facility that has nothing to do with defense or the military.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also condemned the attack, saying it was carried out “as if nothing were changing at all.”
Moscow has shown no signs of pursuing meaningful negotiations to end the war, he said, urging the international community to respond with stronger pressure on Russia, including tougher sanctions and tariffs.
Russia “wasted several cruise missiles against an American business,” Zelenskyy said, noting that it was a regular civilian enterprise producing domestic utilities, such as coffee machines. “And that too became a target for Russia. Very telling.” The attack has sparked widespread condemnation, with many calling for increased international pressure on Russia to end its aggression.
The latest exchange of fire between Moscow and Kyiv follows a renewed diplomatic push to end the war.
US President Donald Trump hosted his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, at a summit in Alaska in a bid to strike a ceasefire deal, but no agreement was reached.
Trump then held a meeting on Monday at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and key European leaders on the situation, assuring Ukraine that Washington would provide it with “very good protection” if a deal is reached to end the war.
However, the meeting left many issues unresolved, with a Ukrainian military analyst saying he was skeptical about the outcome.
“No decision has been made from the viewpoint of security guarantees [for Ukraine], the supply of arms and [the deployment of Western] troops,” Ihor Romanenko, the former deputy head of Ukraine’s army, told newman.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine would hold intensive meetings to understand the kind of security guarantees its allies are willing to provide.
The talks could also be conducted in a trilateral format alongside Trump, Zelenskyy said. “We want to have an understanding of the security guarantees architecture within seven to 10 days. And based on that understanding, we aim to hold a trilateral meeting. That was my logic,” Zelenskyy told reporters on Wednesday after his trip to Washington, DC.
A venue for the meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian leaders is being discussed, with Switzerland, Austria, and Turkey as possibilities.
Hungary has offered to host peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv, with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto saying, “If we are needed, we are ready to provide appropriately fair and safe conditions for such peace negotiations.”
However, Zelenskyy said that Hungary would be a “challenging” location for the talks. US Vice President JD Vance said that European countries would have to shoulder the “lion’s share” of guaranteeing Ukraine’s security in the event of a deal to end the war, and that the US should not have to “carry the burden.”
Meanwhile, Russia warned that efforts to resolve Ukraine’s security issues without Russian involvement were a “road to nowhere.” As the conflict continues, the international community is working to find a solution that will bring peace and stability to the region.