Vladimir Putin ordered Russia’s heaviest bombardment yet of Ukraine only hours after leaving President Donald Trump “disappointed” by a phone call over the prospect of peace negotiations.
“I didn’t make any progress with him at all,” Trump admitted to reporters on Thursday, before a barrage of missiles and drones that left much of the Ukrainian capital in flames.
The attack on Kyiv was the largest aerial bombardment since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The seven-hour onslaught lasted from Thursday into Friday and injured 23 people. Buildings were wrecked and rail infrastructure was affected, too.
Some 550 drones and missiles were launched across the country, in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called a “harsh, sleepless night.”
Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko described the scenes on X, telling of “families running into metro stations, basements, underground parking garages, mass destruction in the heart of our capital.”
“What Kyiv endured last night, cannot be called anything but a deliberate act of terror,” she added.
“I’m not happy about that. I’m not happy about that,” Trump said of Putin’s continued aggression.
“I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, because I don’t think he’s there, and I’m very disappointed,” Trump said.
“I’m just saying I don’t think he’s looking to stop, and that’s too bad,” he added, managing to squeeze in a shot at his predecessor. “This is Biden’s war. It wouldn’t have happened if I were president.”
Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, agreed with the assertion that the war is far from over, trotting out the Kremlin line that it will only renege on its bombing campaign if its demands are met.
“Russia will not back down from these goals,” Ushakov told reporters, adding that the “root causes” of the conflict must be addressed.
Putin has long wanted Ukraine to abandon its push to join NATO. He is also determined not to give up Ukrainian territory captured since his “special military operation” began in 2022.
Trump is due to speak to Zelensky later on Friday. It is likely that Zelensky will renew his appeal for more military support from Trump, after shipments of military aid to Ukraine were paused after a Pentagon review of U.S. munitions stockpiles.
Before jetting off to Iowa for American independence celebrations on Thursday, Trump claimed former President Joe Biden had sent too many weapons. He said he hadn’t completely blocked shipments, merely stemmed the flow.
“We’re giving weapons, but we’ve given so many weapons. But we are giving weapons,” he said.
“And we’re working with them and trying to help them, but we haven’t (completely stopped). You know, Biden emptied out our whole country giving them weapons, and we have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves.”
