Russia and Ukraine have reported airstrikes following a conversation between Putin and Trump

On Wednesday, Russia and Ukraine exchanged accusations regarding airstrikes that targeted civilian infrastructure, shortly after President Vladimir Putin informed President Donald Trump of his intention to temporarily halt assaults on Ukraine’s energy sector.

During their conversation on Tuesday, Putin did not agree to the full 30-day ceasefire that Trump had proposed and which Ukraine had previously accepted. Instead, he consented to a limited pause in attacks on energy infrastructure, a decision that was subsequently acknowledged by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Following the early morning airstrikes by Russia on Wednesday, Zelenskiy called on the international community to prevent any efforts by Moscow to prolong the conflict. “Russia is currently attacking civilian infrastructure and people,” stated Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, in a Telegram message overnight.

Germany’s defense minister remarked that Putin’s commitment to temporarily cease attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities was insignificant, asserting that Trump would need to secure more substantial concessions. “The attacks on civilian infrastructure continued on the very night following this supposedly significant phone call,” Boris Pistorius told German broadcaster ZDF. “Putin is engaging in a strategic game, and I am confident that the American president will not remain passive for much longer.”

BOTH SIDES REPORT MULTIPLE ATTACKS

Both parties reported numerous drone strikes overnight. Ukrainian regional officials indicated that residential areas in the northeastern Sumy region and around the capital were affected, with assaults impacting the power supply for railways in the south. Meanwhile, Russian officials reported that an oil terminal in southern Russia was struck, resulting in a fire.

In Sumy, local authorities noted that Russian drone strikes also caused damage to two hospitals, although there were no injuries reported; however, this necessitated the evacuation of patients and medical staff.

In the Kyiv region, officials reported that a 60-year-old man sustained injuries. The majority of the destruction near the capital occurred in the Bucha district, where police indicated that airstrikes resulted in the destruction or damage of 18 private homes, 20 apartments, 19 vehicles, two shops, and a café.

Additionally, Ukraine reported Russian strikes on the city of Sloviansk, located near the front line, around the same time as a phone call on Tuesday, which caused a power outage in part of the city. President Zelenskiy stated that Russia launched over 40 drones against Ukraine in the hours following the conversation between Trump and Putin. The Ukrainian military reported that Russia deployed 145 drones, with air defenses successfully intercepting 72 and 56 being lost.

“The Russian assault impacted the regions of Sumy, Odesa, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, and Chernihiv,” the military announced via Telegram. Russia’s defense ministry claimed that its forces destroyed 57 Ukrainian drones overnight, with 35 of those downed over the Kursk region. The ministry only provides figures on the number of drones destroyed, without disclosing how many were launched by Ukraine.

In the southern Russian region of Krasnodar, authorities reported early Wednesday that a Ukrainian drone attack caused a small fire at an oil depot near the village of Kavkazskaya. Fortunately, there were no injuries from the fire, which affected an area of 20 square meters (215 square feet), but 30 employees were evacuated, and operations were temporarily halted, according to the regional administration’s post on Telegram.

The Telegram channel SHOT, based in Russia, shared a video showcasing nighttime fires in an industrial zone, labeling it as a crucial site for the rail and pipeline transport of oil exports. Reuters has not been able to independently confirm the details of the SHOT report.

In response to safety concerns, Russia’s aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, announced that overnight flights were halted for several hours from airports in Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, and Nizhnekamsk, all located several hundred kilometers east of Moscow.