KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� More than 100 Russian drones targeted areas of Ukraine on Wednesday, President said, hours after another barrage of civilian areas killed at least eight people.
鈥淩ussia continues its strikes and is doing so brazenly 鈥� deliberately targeting our railway infrastructure and civilian sites in our cities,鈥� Zelenskyy said in a post on X.
The overnight strikes targeted Ukraine’s residential and railway infrastructure in the central Dnipro and northeastern Kharkiv regions, port infrastructure in the southern Odesa region, and energy facilities in the central Poltava region, according to Zelenskyy. On Tuesday, he said, 14 regions came under attack throughout the day.
鈥淚t is important to support Ukraine and not remain silent about Russia鈥檚 war. Every time the war disappears from the top of the news, it encourages Russia to become even more savage,鈥� Zelenskyy said, in an apparent reference to world attention being gripped by the .
Moscow鈥檚 attacks on its neighbor are unrelenting, even as Ukraine is emboldened by its recent military accomplishments and as U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin claim 鈥� without providing evidence 鈥� that the could be approaching the end.
Trump and Putin talk of a possible end to the war
Trump said Tuesday said he believes Moscow and Kyiv will soon reach a deal to end fighting.
鈥淭he end of the war in Ukraine I really think is getting very close,鈥� Trump told reporters as he departed the White House for a summit in Beijing. 鈥淏elieve it or not, it鈥檚 getting closer.鈥�
Putin said in a speech last weekend that his invasion of Ukraine is possibly 鈥渃oming to an end.鈥�
Neither leader elaborated on what persuaded them about the possibility of peace in Europe鈥檚 longest conflict since World War II. over the past year to end the war have fizzled after making no progress on , such as whether Russia gets to keep Ukrainian land and what can be done to deter Russia from invading again.
Meanwhile, European governments are assessing the merits of opening talks with Putin. Europe has for years tried to isolate the Russian leader and punished his country with international sanctions.
War appears to shift in Ukraine’s favor
The correlation of forces in the war has shifted in recent months. Ukraine has gone from pleading for international help with its defense to on how to counter attacks, thanks to its domestically developed .
Ukraine鈥檚 long-range drone and missile attacks energy facilities and manufacturing deep inside Russia, with three Russian regions reporting strikes Wednesday. The Russian Defense Ministry said that its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 286 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, the illegally annexed Crimea peninsula, the Azov Sea and the Black Sea.
On the 1,250-kilometer (780-mile) front line, the advance of Russia鈥檚 bigger and better-equipped army has been slowing every month since last October, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
Russia鈥檚 spring offensive has floundered, with Russian forces recording a net loss of territory last month for the first time since 2024, the Washington-based think tank said.
鈥淣ot only are Ukrainian defensive lines holding, but Ukrainian forces have managed to contest the tactical initiative in several areas of the front line even as Russia continues to lose disproportionate amounts of manpower to achieve minimal gains,鈥� the ISW said Tuesday.
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Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal.
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