LONDON — Russia launched a fresh wave of drone strikes into Ukraine overnight into Sunday morning as the country reeled from a bloody weekend of aerial attacks that Kyiv said killed at least 24 people.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 119 Shahed attack drones into the country overnight, 73 of which were shot down and 37 lost in flight without causing any damage.
Impacts were reported in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Poltava, Cherkasy, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia regions, the air force said in a Telegram post.
Ukraine continued its own long-range attacks into Russia on Saturday night. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it downed 88 Ukrainian drones over eight Russian regions, while Russia’s federal air transport agency introduced temporary operating restrictions at airports in Astrakhan, Kazan and Nizhny Novgorod.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Sunday morning post to social media that each Russian attack represents a failure in the Western-led sanctions campaign against Moscow. “Every Shahed, every aerial bomb used by Russia includes components supplied in circumvention of sanctions,” he said. “These weapons contain more than 82,000 foreign components.”
“Every day, we work with our partners to ensure that decisions are made precisely for the support that saves lives: the supply of air defense, investments in our defense production, strengthening sanctions against Russia,” Zelenskyy wrote. “And we continue our work to bring a fair peace closer and provide reliable security guarantees.”
Russia has intensified its long range strikes on Ukraine over the past week, coinciding with President Donald Trump’s decision to pause all military aid to and intelligence sharing with Ukraine in a bid to force Kyiv into negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end Moscow’s three-year-old invasion.
Friday night saw Russia launch 145 drones and three missiles into Ukraine, the air force said. It reported downing 79 drones with 54 others lost in flight.
On Saturday, Ukraine said 24 people were killed in drone strikes in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Odesa. Among the locations hit were residential buildings and a shopping center in the Donetsk city of Dobropillya, which was subjected to ballistic missile and drone attacks.
Ukraine’s European allies issued fierce condemnations of Russia’s weekend attacks.
“This is what happens when someone appeases barbarians,” Polish President Donald Tusk wrote on X, adding, “More bombs, more aggression, more victims. Another tragic night in Ukraine.”
The European Union’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, wrote on X, “Russian missiles keep relentlessly falling on Ukraine, bringing more death and more destruction.”
“Once again, Putin shows he has no interest in peace,” she added. “We must step up our military support — otherwise, even more Ukrainian civilians will pay the highest price.”
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, expressed his condolences to the victims of Saturday’s strikes in a post to social media. “Of course, we are doing our utmost to protect lives,” he wrote.
“I am grateful to all the leaders, all those diplomats of our partner countries, all public figures who support Ukraine, who have condemned these Russian strikes and who call all things by their proper names,” he added.
“It is essential that we continue coordinating all our efforts with our partners to ensure that our defense works effectively and that we do everything to bring peace closer,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine is pressing for a resumption in U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing, both of which were imposed after a disastrous meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy at the White House.
Trump has repeatedly — and falsely — framed his Ukrainian counterpart as an illegitimate leader and Ukraine as the instigator of Russia’s war. Ukrainian and European leaders have expressed concern at what they see as a U.S. alignment with Russian narratives about the war since Trump’s return to the White House.
Ukrainian and American officials will meet in Saudi Arabia next week for discussions on ending the war. National security advisor Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the U.S. delegation.
On Friday, Trump told reporters “we’re doing very well with Russia,” which he said was “bombing the hell out of Ukraine.”
Asked whether he felt Putin was exploiting the U.S. freeze on assistance in his intensified attacks on Ukraine, Trump added, “I actually think he’s doing what anybody else would do … I think he wants to get it stopped and settled.”
The president also again framed Ukraine as the main impediment to peace. “I’m finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine. And they don’t have the cards,” Trump said. “In terms of getting a final settlement, it may be easier dealing with Russia.”
