Russia and Ukraine launched air force attacks that damaged each other’s infrastructure a few hours after Vladimir Putin said they would stop Russia from targeting Ukrainian energy sites.
Ukrainian President Voldimir Zelensky said Russia’s goals include hospitals and power sources. He said the Russian leader effectively refused a comprehensive ceasefire on Tuesday in a call with US President Donald Trump.
Putin told Trump that a complete ceasefire would only work if Ukrainian allies stopped military aid — a state in which Ukrainian European allies had previously rejected.
Officials in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar, southern Russia, said the Ukrainian drone attack caused a small fire at the oil depot.
Within hours after Putin agreed to halt attacks on energy infrastructure, Zelensky said “we had a hit, especially with private infrastructure,” including Sumy’s hospital.
Zelensky said Russia launched more than 40 drones at Ukraine in a matter of hours following the call between Trump and Putin.
“It is these types of nighttime attacks by Russia that destroy our energy sector, our infrastructure, and the normal lives of Ukrainians,” Zelensky said.
“Today, Putin effectively rejected the proposal for a ceasefire entirely.”
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense said 57 Ukrainian drones were intercepted and destroyed, with 35 in the Kursk border area.
In Belgorod, a Russian region on the border with Ukraine, the governor said the situation was “still difficult.” Moscow said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces attempted a ground attack on Belgorod but were pushed back.
Putin refused an immediate and complete ceasefire in Ukraine and agreed only to halt attacks on energy infrastructure following a hopeful call with Trump.
The Russian leader refused to register for a comprehensive monthly ceasefire where Trump’s team recently worked with Saudi Ukrainians.
US discussions regarding Ukraine are expected to continue on Sunday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Steve Witkov said.
About 80% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure was destroyed by Russian bombs, Zelensky said last September.
Kiev conducted drone and missile attacks digging deep into Russian territory at its oil and gas facilities.
