Russia, Ukraine Trade Deadly Strikes Ahead Of Trump-Zelenskyy Talks

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

KYIV/MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Russian missiles and drones killed at least five people in Ukraine while Kyiv targeted Russian oil refineries, authorities confirmed, hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to meet U.S. President Donald J. Trump at the United Nations in New York.

Four people were killed in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, while a Russian drone killed a woman in the northern Sumy region, authorities said. At least five people were also wounded in Kyiv.

Moscow has stepped up airstrikes in recent months, attacking economic targets ranging from businesses and ports to logistics hubs, while front-line positions have remained largely unchanged more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“Russia deliberately targets businesses, farms, warehouses, railways, energy facilities and residential buildings,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said on the social media platform Telegram.

Ukraine has also intensified long-range strikes, targeting Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure in an effort to undermine Moscow’s ability to sustain its war.

REFINERIES UNDER ATTACK

The Ukrainian military said Tuesday it had hit a Russian oil refinery in Ufa, more than 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from the Ukrainian border, as well as the Kuibyshev refinery in Russia’s Samara region.

Samara regional Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said Ukrainian drones killed one person and wounded four others. He said industrial facilities were targeted, while other strikes damaged private homes and vehicles.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces downed 297 Ukrainian drones over 14 Russian regions and the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula overnight.

Both Moscow and Kyiv deny deliberately targeting civilians.

The escalating aerial war provided the backdrop for Zelenskyy’s visit to New York, where he was due to meet Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

TRUMP SEEKS HALT

Trump has urged Zelenskyy to halt Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure involved in producing and distributing fuel, arguing that the strikes are contributing to global shortages and higher prices.

However, energy analysts have pointed to the U.S.-Iran war and resulting disruptions to Middle Eastern energy supplies as a major driver of higher fuel prices, while Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries have added further pressure to global diesel supplies.

Zelenskyy has indicated Ukraine could halt attacks on Russian energy infrastructure if Moscow stops targeting Ukraine’s energy sector.

Any recent signs of an energy truce have quickly faded, however, as both countries continue attacking each other’s infrastructure.

In Ukraine, Russia simultaneously struck industrial enterprises in Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih and Pavlohrad in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, regional Governor Oleksandr Hanzha said.

INDUSTRIAL SITES STRUCK

A missile strike on a facility in Dnipro belonging to Interpipe, Ukraine’s largest pipe producer, killed four people and wounded seven, the company said.

Koretskyi said 13 Ukrainian regions and the capital, Kyiv, were hit during the overnight Russian assault, which continued into Tuesday morning.

Ukraine’s air force said the barrage included Oniks anti-ship and ballistic missiles, four cruise missiles and 212 drones.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces targeted Ukraine’s metallurgical and chemical industries, fuel and energy sector, military-industrial facilities and port infrastructure.

Moscow also claimed it struck a Kyiv plant producing components for long-range cruise missiles and a facility in the central Poltava region that Russia said was being used to produce small-arms ammunition.

POWER SUPPLIES HIT

Businesses were also damaged in Pavlohrad and Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s hometown, Ukrainian officials said.

A Russian strike on an energy facility in a neighboring region cut electricity supplies to nearly 100,000 consumers in Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region, according to an electricity distributor.

Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz said at least five ballistic missiles struck idle technological facilities at an oil and gas site in the central Poltava region.

The company said the attack caused critical damage that effectively made restoration and operation of the facility impossible. It said the site had repeatedly been targeted by Russian drones and missiles since 2022.

Russia’s Defense Ministry separately said its forces struck an oil refinery in Kremenchuk in the Poltava region.

The latest attacks underscored the continued escalation of the air war despite diplomatic efforts to curb the fighting, with Zelenskyy seeking additional Western support as he meets Trump and other leaders in New York.