Russia has launched 574 drones and 40 ballistic and cruise missiles overnight, in one of its largest air attacks against Ukraine of the year, Ukrainian Air Force said on Thursday, while a recent diplomatic push to stop the three -year war is trying to grow.
The attack mainly targeted Western regions of the country, said the Air Force, where a large part of the military aid provided by the Western allies of Ukraine would be delivered and stored. The strikes killed at least one person and injured 15 others, according to officials.
It was the third Russian air attack this year in terms of the number of drones drawn and the eighth largest in terms of missiles, according to official Ukrainian figures. Most of these Russian attacks have struck civilian areas.
The strikes took place during a renewed effort led by the United States to achieve a peace regulation after the invasion of Russia in February 2022 of its neighbor. President Donald Trump discussed the war with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week, and at the start of this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in the White House.
Russia has pulled nearly 1,000 long -range drones and missiles in Ukraine since the White House discussions.
Zelenskyy condemned the attack overnight, saying that she had been carried out “as if nothing changed at all”.
Rubio to organize discussions on Ukrainian security with Europe
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will organize a conference on Thursday a call conference with national security advisers from European countries who should play a role in future security guarantees for Ukraine, said a senior American official.
One of the conditions of Kyiv to sign a peace agreement is to ensure that the military insurance supported by the West dissuade Russia from setting up another invasion in the years to come.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that taking security agreements for Ukraine without the involvement of Moscow was useless.
Get daily national news
Get the best news of the day, the titles of political, economic and current affairs, delivered in your reception box once a day.
It was not immediately clear which countries would be represented during the call with Rubio. The American official spoke under the guise of anonymity to describe a discussion that had not been announced publicly.
Rubio also met the Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand for Washington on Thursday, his first seated in person with the new diplomat of Canada since he was sworn in last spring.
Zelenskyy calls for more pressure on Moscow
Ukraine and European leaders have accused Putin of blocking the ongoing peace efforts, in particular the cease-fire proposal by Ukraine and Zelenskyy’s offer to sit with the Russian chief. The Kremlin reacted coldly to these possibilities.
Lavrov, the best diplomat in Moscow, repeated Russia’s policy on Thursday that Putin is ready to meet Zelenskyy – but only after key questions have already been resolved by senior officials in what could be a negotiation process for a long time.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that strikes were targeting “companies from the Ukrainian industrial military complex”. He said that the attack hit drone factories, storage deposits and missile launch sites, as well as areas where Ukrainian troops have been gathered. Russia has denied several times to target the civil zones of Ukraine.
Moscow has shown no sign to continue significant negotiations to end the war, said Zelenskyy. He urged the international community to respond with stronger pressure on Moscow, including more difficult sanctions and prices.
Ukraine, on the other hand, has maintained its attacks with long -range drones produced at the national level on infrastructure in Russia which supports the war effort of Moscow. Among other objectives, he has achieved oil refineries and the wholesale prices of Russian petrol have reached record heights in recent days.
Strike on Us Electronics Plant
Almost all night missiles were taken from the interior of Russia. They deeply reached western Ukraine, near the border with Hungary.
The western parts of Ukraine are far from the front line of the battlefield in the east and south of the country, where a grinding war war killed tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides.
In the west of the city of Lviv, one person was killed and three were injured while the attack damaged 26 residential buildings, a kindergarten and administrative buildings, Kozytskyi, regional chief, Kozytskyi wrote.
The regional prosecutor’s office said that three Russian cruise missiles with cluster ammunition had hit the city.
An American electronics factory near the Hungarian border has also been struck, according to Andy Hunder, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine. Flex Factory is one of the largest American investments in Ukraine, Hunder told the Associated Press by phone.
At the time of the impact, 600 night workers were there and six of them were injured, Hunder said. The Russian attacks against Ukraine since its launch of its invasion have damaged goods belonging to more than half of the 600 members of the Chamber, he added
“The message is clear: Russia does not seek peace. Russia attacks American affairs in Ukraine, humiliating American affairs,” said Hunder.
Ukraine awaits the details of security guarantees
On Wednesday, in comments that was embargo until Thursday, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would organize intensive meetings to understand what type of security guarantee its allies are ready to provide.
Details are being discharged by national security advisers and military officials. The plans will become clearer by the end of next week, said Zelenskyy. He then expects to be ready to organize direct talks with Putin for the first time since the large -scale invasion.
Translections could also be carried out in a trilateral format alongside Trump, Zelenskyy said.
A meeting place is under discussion, and Switzerland, Austria and Turkey are possibilities, added Zelenskyy.
Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this story.
& Copy 2025 the Canadian press
