RUSSIA has stepped up its savage bombing campaign on Ukraine despite hopes of an end to the war.

The attacks comes as Vladimir Putin is set to meet Trump in an historic summit for Ukraine peace talks.

Video footage shows the Kremlin’s forces striking a key bridge in Kherson, which it failed to dislodge in six massive aerial attacks.

The assault on the key crossing in the Korabelny district signals potential strategies by Russian-aligned groups to capture this crucial city near the frontline. However, Ukraine firmly contests these claims.

Separate footage shows Shahed-2 drones striking Dnipropetrovsk region, where four were injured including a woman, 69.

In a separate incident, Russian forces killed at least three individuals in Nikopol, including Danylo Khizhnyak, a 23-year-old rescuer, during a deliberate strike aimed at first responders. This occurred amid discussions involving Trump during envoy Steve Witkoff’s visit to Moscow.

Separately, the Russians killed a 62-year-old civilian woman in Huliaipole, near the frontline in Zaporizhzhia region.

Moscow also broadcasted images from this week’s joint military exercises with China, titled Maritime Interaction-2025, where both authoritarian nations engaged in artillery drills against a ‘simulated enemy,’ presenting a unified front to the West.

These developments raise doubts about Putin’s intentions for peace, despite reports that Trump is seeking direct talks with him following his envoy Witkoff’s lengthy meeting at the Kremlin.

When questioned if Putin might be deceiving him, the US president stated: “I can’t answer that yet. I’ll have more clarity in a few weeks, maybe even sooner. But we’ve made significant headway.”

Meanwhile he vowed more sanctions against countries trading oil with Russia, so funding the Putin war machine.

“We did it with India, we’re doing it probably with a couple of others. One of them could be China,” said Trump.

Trump said a face to face encounter with Putin could come by next week.

“There’s a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon,” he said.

But he cautioned the progress made was not a “breakthrough”.

His secretary of state Marco Rubio said many obstacles still needed to be overcome.

Ukraine sought to increase pressure on Putin with precision strikes on key military and strategic targets in overnight action.

Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces reportedly hit a Russian military unit in Slavyansk-na-Kubani in Krasnodar region.

“Eyewitnesses observe a fire in the area of the military unit,” said a report.

Reports said the strike was against military unit 61661.

A dramatic and “massive” fire blazed at Afipsky Refinery after explosions around 6 am, which “shook the site, with flames illuminating the sky.”

It is one of the largest refineries in southern Russia.

Ukraine also targeted air defence units near Kerch in occupied Crimea, according to reports.

And they hit the Surovikino railway station triggering a fire in Volgograd region, where a temporary airport closure was enforced.

This was another in a series of recent strikes aimed at disrupting Putin’s rail transport system, especially involving military cargoes.

Earlier, unmanned boats were reported to be attacking key port Novorossiysk, in Krasnodar region.

Russia claimed to have “repelled” the 4am attack, but there was no independent verification.