In an unsettling escalation of hostilities, Russia launched a drone assault on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, resulting in three fatalities and injuring 14 others, as reported by Ukrainian officials on Saturday. This attack came despite the recent agreement to a limited ceasefire between the involved nations. The city was struck by 12 drones, leading to substantial damage; residential buildings, vehicles, and community structures were set ablaze, according to Ivan Fedorov, the regional head. Images from the scene depicted emergency services sifting through debris in search of survivors.
Wednesday’s agreement on a ceasefire followed a conversation between U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of Ukraine and Russia. However, ambiguity remains over which targets are exempt from attack. The understanding of the agreement’s scope differs among the parties. The White House emphasized that “energy and infrastructure” were included, whereas the Kremlin specified the focus on “energy infrastructure.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed a desire to see railways and ports afforded the same protection.
Tragically, the victims from Zaporizhzhia were members of a single family. The daughter and father were found beneath the rubble, while efforts to save the mother were unsuccessful after more than 10 hours, detailed Fedorov via the Telegram messaging app. The Ukrainian air force reported that overnight into Saturday, Russia launched 179 drones and decoys in attacks, with 100 intercepted and an additional 63 disrupted, likely through electronic means.
Reports from officials in the Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions indicated fires resulting from debris of intercepted drones, highlighting the wider impact of the continued exchanges. Conversely, Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed to have downed 47 Ukrainian drones using their air defense systems. In the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, a Ukrainian drone reportedly struck a high-rise, injuring two people and damaging six apartments.
Following a conversation with Trump, Zelenskyy stated that negotiations on the technicalities of the partial ceasefire would proceed at a meeting in Saudi Arabia on Monday. Russian officials are also slated for separate talks with U.S. representatives there. Zelenskyy reinforced Ukraine’s willingness for a complete, 30-day ceasefire as proposed by Trump, indicating openness to any form that supports an unconditional halt to hostilities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, insists on conditions for a full ceasefire, including a stop to arms deliveries to Kyiv and a pause in Ukraine’s military mobilization, which Ukraine and its Western allies have dismissed. Kremlin spokesperson Maria Zakharova criticized Ukraine for ongoing “treacherous attacks” on energy infrastructure and indicated that Russia retains the right to respond in kind.
These remarks came on the heels of Russian accusations on Friday of Ukrainian forces allegedly destroying a gas metering station near Sudzha, in Russia’s Kursk region. Ukraine’s military General Staff refuted the accusations, asserting that the Russian military was responsible for the station shelling as part of a “discrediting campaign.”
