A series of Russian drone strikes hit Ukraine overnight, shortly after a phone conversation between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin concluded with “no progress at all.”
Explosions rocked Kyiv in the early hours of Friday as air defense units battled drones across both banks of the Dnipro River.
Fires broke out in at least 13 locations across five districts, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration.
The Svyatoshynskyi and Solomanskyi districts were among the hardest hit, with blazes on rooftops and in courtyards, and injuries feared.
The assault occurred soon after Trump’s discussion with Putin, where the Russian leader allegedly remained steadfast in his war objectives.
“I didn’t make any progress with him at all,” the US President told reporters outside a Washington air base on Thursday.
The nearly hour-long call, which also touched on the Middle East and cultural diplomacy, appeared to achieve little beyond hardened positions.
Despite Trump’s push for a cessation of military actions, Kremlin adviser Yury Ushakov indicated that Putin remained resolute, declaring: “Russia will continue to pursue its goals.”
He added that Moscow “will not back down” and is focused on addressing what it calls the “root causes” of the war — a thinly veiled reference to NATO expansion and Western military support for Ukraine.
The call took place amid a growing outcry over the US decision to halt some critical arms shipments to Ukraine, including Patriot missiles and precision-guided munitions.
Trump defended the pause, blaming his predecessor Joe Biden.
He said: “Biden emptied out our whole country giving them weapons, and we have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he hoped to speak with Trump about the weapons pause, warning that the delay could embolden Moscow.
Speaking from Denmark on Thursday, he said: “In Russia, only Putin makes decisions, which is why we need a meeting at the leadership level if we want to have peace.”
But peace seemed more distant than ever as the death toll mounted.
In Poltava on Thursday, two people were killed and 47 injured in a Russian airstrike that also ignited a fire at a military draft office — part of what Ukraine called a targeted effort to disrupt its mobilisation efforts.
Another drone attack earlier in the week struck near a recruitment centre in Kryvyi Rih.
Meanwhile, Russia claimed to have captured the border village of Milove in Kharkiv region, opening a new front in the northeast. Ukraine has not confirmed the report.
It comes as Ukraine dealt another stunning blow to the Kremlin with the confirmed killing of the deputy commander of Russia’s navy.
Major General Mikhail Gudkov was killed in a precision missile strike on a forward command post in Russia’s Kursk region.
Gudkov was hailed a decorated “Hero of Russia” and one of the most senior figures in Putin’s inner circle.
He was assassinated early Wednesday as he met with fellow commanders just 11 miles from the Ukrainian border.
The strike reportedly killed a dozen top officers in total and is believed to have been carried out with the aid of “excellent intelligence” on Russian troop movements.
He had been tasked with overseeing a fresh assault on Ukraine’s Sumy region, where 50,000 Russian troops are massed.
The general was considered vital to Moscow’s coastal and marine operations and had command of the infamous 155th Naval Infantry Brigade, part of Russia’s Pacific Fleet.
