Trump presses Zelenskyy to ‘settle with Putin’ as 10 die in latest air strikes

Donald Trump (Rod Lamkey Jr/AP)

Russian attacks have killed four people across Ukraine, officials said, while Ukraine continued to target Russia’s oil refineries and industrial sites with long-range drones.

The intensifying aerial war between Moscow and Kyiv came as US President Donald Trump said he hoped Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy would “settle” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia has struck Ukraine with cruise and ballistic missiles, glide bombs and jet-powered drones while frontline progress has slowed, more than four years after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

“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,” Mr Zelenskyy wrote on Saturday.

He listed “numerous strikes on residential homes” in the cities of Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia, and the Odesa, Sumy and Kharkiv regions.

Two women in Zaporizhzhia died when they were trapped beneath the rubble of their home, Zaporizhzhia’s regional military administration said. A separate Russian attack on the city of Sumy also killed two people, local officials said.

Two people were injured overnight in the Kyiv region after a Russian drone strike sparked 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 Defence Ministry said the attack on Kyiv damaged a data centre supporting mobile internet services and Starlink satellite communications.

Ukraine continued to target Russian oil refineries and industrial sites with long-range drones. One drone attack in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region killed three people and wounded two, local officials said.

Regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev said the attack sparked fires at two industrial sites but provided no further details.

Mr Zelenskyy later said that Kyiv had damaged the region’s Ilsky oil refinery.

Ukrainian attacks also killed three people overnight in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, Moscow-installed regional head Yevgeny Balitsky said, according to Russian state media.

Mr Trump commented on Saturday on his meeting with Mr Zelenskyy at the UN General Assembly, saying that he hoped the Ukrainian leader would “settle” with Mr Putin.

After Tuesday’s meeting, Mr Zelenskyy told journalists he trusted the White House could help end Russia’s invasion of his country, even as attacks by both sides intensified.

While campaigning for re-election in 2024, Mr Trump claimed he could broker an end to the war almost immediately. The conflict has continued, but the US president said on Saturday that Mr Zelenskyy and Mr Putin were “going along” and that “some day, 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,” Mr Trump added, referring to Mr Zelenskyy. “I want him to settle with Putin, and I want Putin to settle with him.”

While in New York, Mr Zelenskyy also appealed to the United Nations for countries to deprive Russia of revenue through sanctions and trade restrictions, denying Moscow the money it needs to prolong the war.