Trump Urges Zelenskyy to 'Settle' with Putin Amid Intensified Strikes
Former President Donald Trump expressed his hope that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would reach a resolution with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Russia's renewed aerial attacks on Ukraine resulted in civilian casualties.
Russian forces launched intensified attacks across Ukraine on Saturday, killing four people, while Ukraine continued its drone strikes on Russian industrial sites. The escalating aerial conflict occurred as former President Donald Trump stated his hope that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would "settle" with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Officials reported that numerous strikes hit residential homes in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, and the Odesa, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions. In Zaporizhzhia, two women died when their home collapsed, and a separate attack on Sumy killed two people. In the Kyiv region, a drone strike on a warehouse injured two people, and other drone attacks in the capital damaged residential and office buildings.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed that an attack on Kyiv damaged a data center supporting mobile internet and Starlink satellite communications.
Meanwhile, Ukraine carried out drone attacks targeting Russian oil refineries and industrial sites. An attack in Russia's southern Krasnodar region killed three people and wounded two, with regional officials reporting fires at two industrial sites. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy later confirmed that Kyiv had damaged the Ilsky oil refinery in the region.
Trump, speaking about his recent meeting with Zelenskyy at the U.N. General Assembly, said he hoped the Ukrainian leader would "settle" with Putin. Trump, who has previously claimed he could broker an end to the war quickly, said Saturday that he wanted Zelenskyy and Putin to "make a deal" and "settle" with each other.
Zelenskyy, while in New York, also appealed to the United Nations to deprive Russia of revenue through sanctions and trade restrictions to curtail its ability to fund the war. Despite ongoing diplomatic efforts, no breakthrough has been reached toward ending the conflict.