Russian drones struck the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, officials said, just a day after Kyiv launched more than 1,000 drones at targets across Russia.
The latest wave of attacks offered another stark reminder that the war continues unabated, with diplomatic efforts to end the fighting showing little tangible progress more than four years after Russia invaded its neighbour.
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There was no indication of a slowdown as world leaders prepared to gather this week for the UN General Assembly.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he expected to meet US President Donald Trump during the annual summit in New York.
Ukrainian firefighters extinguish a fire at Zaporizhzhia National University
Mr Trump today described the war as “ridiculous” and said Moscow had “unfortunately lost control” of its diesel oil production as Ukrainian forces continued targeting Russian refineries with long-range drones.
“A large number of (Russian) diesel refineries have been blown up and are, at least temporarily, out of commission,” he wrote in a social media post.
Earlier this month, Mr Trump called on Mr Zelensky to stop the refinery attacks, arguing that they were contributing to a global shortage and driving up prices.
European leaders, increasingly concerned that Moscow harbours hostile ambitions on the continent, are pressing for greater international pressure on Mr Putin to withdraw from Ukraine. The Russian president, however, has shown no sign of abandoning his war aims.
The overnight Russian assault on Zaporizhzhia damaged apartment buildings, a university and a shopping centre, among other locations, and injured five people, Mr Zelensky said on social media this morning.
Smoke rises after drone strikes hit oil refinery in Moscow
Russia also carried out strikes in nine other Ukrainian regions, he said.
“Russia is not backing down from its escalation and is sending many signals that it is ready to expand the war,” Mr Zelensky said.
“At the UN General Assembly, we will discuss how we can achieve peace through joint efforts.”
The Russian Defence Ministry said its military had targeted Ukrainian logistics hubs, warehouses and ports overnight, along with other sites it described as linked to military activity.
The strikes followed a massive Ukrainian drone assault on Russia from Saturday into Sunday, with hundreds of drones directed towards Moscow as voters took part in the third and final day of a tightly managed parliamentary election.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said air defences had destroyed 244 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and the Black Sea overnight.
Donald Trump has urged Volodymyr Zelensky to halt strikes on Russian refineries
Ukraine’s air force, meanwhile, said it had shot down or electronically suppressed 148 Russian drones during an overnight attack.
The repeated aerial incursions have also unsettled neighbouring countries, where drones have crossed into national airspace and heightened fears that the conflict could spread.
Moldova’s Ministry of Defence said part of the country’s northern airspace was temporarily closed overnight after surveillance systems detected an “aerial object” entering the country’s airspace shortly after midnight.
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Moldovan authorities have reported several airspace violations in recent weeks, while drone debris has been recovered on the country’s territory.
Because electronic jamming can force drones off course, officials could not establish whether the aircraft were Russian or Ukrainian. Moldova’s authorities have nevertheless frequently blamed Moscow for such incidents.
Moldova’s pro-Western President Maia Sandu has repeatedly denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Earlier this month, she said Moscow’s “brutal war is reaching our border” after Russian strikes were carried out near Moldova’s frontier with Ukraine.
Romania has likewise recorded a sharp rise in drone incursions into its airspace.
