KYIV, Ukraine — Russian attacks killed four people across Ukraine on Saturday, officials reported, while Ukrainian forces continued targeting Russian oil refineries and industrial facilities with long-range drones.
The intensifying aerial conflict coincided with U.S. President Donald Trump expressing hope that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would “settle” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia has bombarded Ukraine with cruise and ballistic missiles, glide bombs, and jet-powered drones, even as front-line advances have stalled more than four years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion.
“It is essential that our partners not forget: Russia is escalating every single day. If the Russians have chosen to make their strikes even more brutal, the world must choose stronger responses to keep the war from spreading further,” Zelenskyy wrote on Saturday.
He cited “numerous strikes on residential homes” in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, and the Odesa, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions.
Two women in Zaporizhzhia died after being trapped beneath the rubble of their home, according to the region’s military administration. A separate Russian attack on Sumy killed two additional people, local officials confirmed.
Elsewhere, two people were injured overnight in the Kyiv region when a Russian drone strike ignited a fire at a warehouse in the Boryspil district. Russian drones also struck several districts of the capital, injuring four people and damaging residential and office buildings, officials said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed Saturday that the Kyiv attack damaged a data center supporting mobile internet services and Starlink satellite communications.
Meanwhile, Ukraine pressed its campaign against Russian energy infrastructure. A Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region killed three people and wounded two, local officials reported Saturday.
Regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev stated on Telegram that the attack sparked fires at two industrial sites but offered no further details.
Zelenskyy later confirmed that Ukrainian forces had damaged the region’s Ilsky oil refinery.
Ukrainian strikes also killed three people overnight in the Russian-occupied portion of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, according to Moscow-installed regional head Yevgeny Balitsky, as reported by Russian state media.
Trump commented Saturday on his meeting with Zelenskyy at the U.N. General Assembly, reiterating his hope that the Ukrainian leader would “settle” with Putin.
Following Tuesday’s meeting, Zelenskyy told journalists he trusted the White House could help end Russia’s invasion, even as attacks by both sides intensified.
During his 2024 reelection campaign, Trump claimed he could broker an immediate end to the war. The conflict has persisted, but Trump asserted Saturday that Zelenskyy and Putin were “going along” and that “someday, hopefully in the not-too-distant future, maybe before the heavy winter, they’ll make a deal.”
“You know what I want him to do? Make a deal,” Trump said, referring to Zelenskyy. “I want him to settle with Putin, and I want Putin to settle with him.”
While in New York, Zelenskyy also appealed to the United Nations for countries to deprive Russia of revenue through sanctions and trade restrictions, denying Moscow the funds needed to prolong the war. Despite years of diplomatic efforts, however, no breakthrough toward ending the conflict has emerged.