Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Saturday that he is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump during the upcoming UN General Assembly next week, amid escalating deadly airstrikes by Russia across Ukraine.
Zelensky reported that Russia launched one of its most extensive aerial assaults, firing 40 missiles and around 580 drones in a nighttime attack that resulted in at least three fatalities and numerous injuries.
In a separate incident, a Ukrainian strike in the Samara region of Russia resulted in the deaths of four individuals, according to local government officials, marking one of the deadliest instances of Ukrainian strikes since the initiation of Russia’s invasion in 2022.
During his meeting with Trump in New York, Zelensky plans to address security assurances for Ukraine and discuss potential sanctions on Russia.
Ukraine has been advocating for Western-supported security guarantees to deter future Russian aggression. Nevertheless, Russian President Vladimir Putin has cautioned that any deployment of Western forces in Ukraine would be considered unacceptable and legitimate targets for attack.
An initiative led by the U.S. for a swift resolution to the conflict has stalled, and Russia has effectively dismissed the possibility of a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, which Ukraine claims is essential for achieving peace.
“We anticipate sanctions if a meeting between the leaders does not occur or if, for instance, there is no ceasefire,” Zelensky stated in remarks published by the Ukrainian presidency.
“We are open to a meeting with Putin. I have mentioned it before, both bilaterally and trilaterally. He is not prepared,” Zelensky added.
Throughout the night, Ukraine faced a significant assault from Russia. The enemy launched 40 missiles—both cruise and ballistic—and approximately 580 various drones. I express my gratitude to all our defenders who safeguarded the skies during the night, especially our F-16 pilots, who once again demonstrated their expertise.
Zelensky reported via social media that “a missile armed with cluster munitions directly impacted an apartment building” in Dnipro, a city in central Ukraine.
He shared images of burning vehicles and a building engulfed in flames, along with rescuers aiding a person trapped amid the debris.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, the strikes resulted in one fatality and injured at least 30 individuals, with one man in critical condition, as confirmed by regional Governor Serhiy Lysak.
These attacks occurred a day after three Russian fighter jets were alleged to have violated the airspace of Estonia—a NATO member on the alliance’s eastern front—an accusation that Moscow denied.
This incident has raised concerns in the West regarding a potential new provocation from Russia, particularly after Poland reported last week that around 20 Russian drones had crossed into its airspace.
Zelensky repeated his call for “cooperative solutions” to address the threat posed by drones over Ukraine, urging collaboration with other nations.
As Russia continues to advance on Ukrainian territory, it announced on Saturday that its forces had taken control of the village of Berezove in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
In Kharkiv, Zelensky indicated that “intense actions” were occurring in the strategically significant area of Kupiansk, which Ukraine had reclaimed during a successful offensive in 2022.
In Russia, four people died “in an enemy drone attack last night,” according to Samara Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev’s social media post.
He previously mentioned that “fuel and energy facilities” were targeted, although he did not disclose specific damages.
The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed that “strategic targets of the Russian aggressor were hit,” noting that their forces had inflicted damage on the Saratov Oil Refinery and attacked the Novokuybyshevsk Oil Refinery in the Samara region.
A source from Ukraine’s SBU security agency reported that Ukrainian drone strikes “have disrupted the operations of several oil pumping stations in Russia.”
“This infrastructure generates substantial oil revenue for the Russian budget, which funds the war against Ukraine. Efforts to halt these financial flows will persist,” the source explained.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that its air defense systems “intercepted and destroyed” 149 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 27 over the Saratov region and 15 over the Samara region.
Despite three rounds of direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine this year in Istanbul yielding only prisoner swaps, Russia has maintained stringent demands, including a full cession of the eastern Donbas region—parts of which it continues to hold.
Kyiv has refused to make territorial concessions and advocates for the deployment of European troops in Ukraine as peacekeepers, which Moscow considers unacceptable.
