By Agence France-Presse
U.S. 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 said in a statement on Friday, July 4, that he was “very unhappy” about his telephone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, saying, “He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people, it’s no good.”
The U.S. President said he and Putin talked about sanctions “a lot,” adding: “He understands that it may be coming.”
Hours-long Russian bombardments sent Ukrainians scurrying for shelters across the country and came after the call between Trump and Putin, which ended without a breakthrough.
AFP journalists in Kyiv heard drones buzzing over the capital and explosions ringing out throughout the night, as Ukrainian air defense systems fended off the attack.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 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,” Zelenskyy said on social media after the call.
Tymur, a Kyiv resident who said he had experienced previous Russian attacks, told AFP that the assault in the early hours of Friday felt different from others.
‘Nothing like this happened’
“Nothing like this attack had ever happened before. There have never been so many explosions,” he said.
The Kremlin said on Friday, July 4, that 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,” Spokesperson 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 Friday to Saturday (July 5),” regional governor Sergiy Lysak said on Telegram.
Zelensky said on Friday that air alerts began echoing out across the country as the Trump-Putin call was getting under way.
He urged the United States in particular to increase pressure on Moscow, which announced fresh territorial gains on the front line with the capture of a village in the Donetsk region.
Poland said its embassy building in Kyiv had been damaged in the attack but that staff were unharmed. In the Ukrainian capital, one person was pulled from the rubble after the strikes, which also wounded at least 26 people, emergency services said.
The barrage, according to the air force, comprised 539 drones and 11 missiles. A representative of Ukraine’s air force told Ukrainian media that the attack was the largest of the Russian invasion.
Escalating overnight attacks
Overnight Russian attacks have escalated over recent weeks.
An AFP tally found Moscow launched a record number of drones and missiles at Ukraine in June, when direct peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow appeared to stall. In Kyiv, AFP journalists saw dozens of residents of the capital taking shelter in a metro station.
Yuliia Golovnina, who said she sheltered at the metro regularly, described the worry that came with hearing an explosion during an attack.
“Will there be another one? Will something collapse on you? In those seconds, you just hold your breath and wait to see what happens next.” the 47 year-old said.
In Kyiv, concerns mounted over whether the U.S. would continue delivering military aid, which is key to Ukraine’s ability to fend off the drone and missile barrages. The U.S. announced this week it was reducing some of its aid deliveries.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this was a clear signal that the 27-nation European Union needed to “step up.”
Ukraine has also ramped up its retaliatory strikes in Russia, where a woman was killed by a Ukrainian drone attack overnight, the acting governor of the Rostov region said.
Talks, spearheaded by the United States to secure a ceasefire, have stalled. Delegations from the two sides last met more than a month ago, when they agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each.
Russia announced a fresh swap of prisoners of war with Ukraine on Friday as part of that agreement.
