KYIV, Ukraine — Overnight Saturday witnessed a significant aerial exchange between Russia and Ukraine, with both countries reporting over 100 enemy drones crossing into each other’s territories.
This exchange followed a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin held discussions with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff about America’s proposition for a 30-day ceasefire amid the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
At a press conference on Thursday, Putin expressed conditional support for the truce but emphasized various specifics that need resolution before finalizing the agreement. While Kyiv has already backed this ceasefire proposal, Ukrainian authorities have publicly voiced skepticism over Moscow’s commitment to such an accord.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a Saturday statement, accused Russia of amassing troops along the border.
“Russia’s military buildup signifies its preference to disregard diplomatic efforts, reflecting its intent to prolong the conflict,” Zelenskyy stated.
He further highlighted that Ukrainian forces are maintaining their operations in Russia’s Kursk region, following a statement by former U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday regarding “thousands” of Ukrainian soldiers being encircled by Russian forces.
“Operations by our forces continue in designated areas of the Kursk region,” he remarked.
“Our troops persist in containing Russian and North Korean forces in the area, and no encirclement of our forces exists,” Zelenskyy clarified.
Simultaneously, Ukraine’s air force reported Saturday that Russia deployed a significant number of aerial weapons, including 178 drones and two ballistic missiles, over Ukraine overnight.
The attack involved Shahed-type assault drones and decoy drones aimed at confusing Ukraine’s air defenses. In response, 130 drones were intercepted, while 38 failed to reach their targets.
Russia targeted energy infrastructures, leading to massive damages, as reported by Ukraine’s private energy company DTEK.
Russian strikes on energy facilities in the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions resulted in power outages, according to a statement by DTEK.
“The damages incurred are substantial, but energy workers are on-site, actively working to restore power to affected households promptly,” noted the energy firm.
Concurrently, in Russia’s Volgograd region, Governor Andrei Bocharov confirmed that a fire broke out in Krasnoarmeysky district. This was attributed to debris from a drone falling close to a Lukoil oil refinery. Flights at nearby airports were temporarily suspended, local media reported, though there were no casualties.
The Volgograd refinery has faced several attacks attributed to Kyiv’s forces since Russia’s full-scale invasion began over three years ago, including a recent drone strike on February 15.
