Hours after the phone call between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, where the Russian President insisted to the American President that he will not back down from his military objectives, Russia has launched a new record attack on Ukraine: 539 drones and 11 ballistic and cruise missiles.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that their defenses shot down two missiles and 270 drones, while 208 others were lost. Nine missiles and 63 drones hit targets, a higher number of impacts than usual.
At least 23 people were injured in Kiev, the main target of the attack, where bombings caused damage to railway infrastructure and numerous buildings and vehicles in several districts.
Volodymyr Zelensky, who will speak with Donald Trump today, criticized the attack as "deliberately massive and cynical" and once again called for sanctions against Russia.
Russia Claims to Have Attacked Military Targets in Kiev and Captured a Village in Donetsk
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated on Friday that their forces had successfully targeted military objectives in Kiev overnight with high-precision long-range weapons, and their troops had captured a village named Predtechyne in the eastern Donetsk region.
Russia stated that their attacks targeted Ukrainian drone factories, a military airfield, and an oil refinery.
Russia Increasing Use of Chemical Weapons in Ukraine, According to the Netherlands
Russia has escalated the use of chemical weapons in its conflict against Ukraine, according to Dutch intelligence agencies, as reported on Friday by the Dutch Minister of Defense, Ruben Brekelmans.
"Our Dutch intelligence agencies reveal: Russia is increasingly using chemical weapons in Ukraine," Brekelmans stated on social media.
The minister mentioned that, in addition to tear gas, it has been confirmed that Russia has used chloropicrin, a more potent and prohibited component. "This is unacceptable: more sanctions and isolation of Russia, more support for Ukraine!" he emphasized.
The Dutch Foreign Minister, Caspar Veldkamp, also stated on social media that Russia "is increasingly using chemical weapons against Ukrainian soldiers." "A horrible way to wage war and also a dangerous development that threatens to lower the threshold for using these types of weapons. This is unacceptable," he pointed out.
China Says It Does Not Want Russia to Lose the War in Ukraine
The balance between neutrality in the war in Ukraine and partnership with Putin had been the prevailing script embraced by Chinese diplomats. However, this script may have been shattered. An exclusive report from the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP), one of the leading media outlets in Asia, stated that the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, acknowledged to the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, that Beijing cannot afford for Russia to lose the war against Ukraine because it fears that the United States will then turn its full attention against the Asian giant.
Lavrov Congratulates Marco Rubio on Independence Day and Aims to Stabilize Relations
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sent a congratulatory telegram on Friday to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the country's Independence Day, expressing the desire to stabilize and make the relationship between both countries predictable, as reported by Efe.
"I hope that, through joint efforts, the relations between our countries will be creatively consolidated and achieve positive stability and predictability based on mutual respect and consideration of each other's national interests," the note published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's Telegram channel stated.
In this way, the Russian Foreign Minister conveyed his congratulations to the American side and wished their people to continue on the path of peace and common prosperity.
Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin also congratulated his American counterpart, Donald Trump, during their phone call.
Zelensky: "It was one of the largest, deliberately massive and cynical aerial attacks"
Volodymyr Zelensky condemned on his social media the latest massive attack launched by Russia against Ukraine, one of the largest to date, and called for sanctions.
"For every such attack against people and human life, appropriate sanctions and other blows to their economy, income, and infrastructure must be felt," Zelensky said, describing the attack as "deliberately massive and cynical."
Ukrainian Drones Damage Electrical Infrastructure near Moscow
Ukraine launched a drone attack on the Sergiyev Posad district near Moscow early Friday, injuring one person and damaging electrical infrastructure, according to the district head, Oksana Yerokhanova.
"I ask everyone to remain calm, not approach the windows, and not photograph the air defense work," Yerokhanova wrote in a Telegram post.
Yerokhanova stated that at least four explosions were recorded throughout the district -- about 75 km from the Kremlin -- and an electrical substation was damaged, leaving several areas without electricity.
Ukrainian Attack Kills Woman in Rostov
A Ukrainian drone attack in the Rostov region killed at least one woman and forced dozens of people to evacuate their homes, according to the acting governor of the region in southern Russia.
Trump, Disappointed After Call with Putin, Plans to Speak with Zelensky Today
US President Donald Trump admitted early this morning that he was disappointed after the phone call with Vladimir Putin, as he did not believe that Putin had any intention of ending the war against Ukraine.
Following the conversation with the Russian President on Thursday, Trump plans to speak with Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, as he told reporters upon returning to Washington from a trip to Iowa.
"I am very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin because I don't think he is willing, and that disappoints me a lot," Trump said. "I'm just saying I don't think he's looking to stop, and that's a shame."
The Russian bombardment left at least 23 people injured in Kiev, damaged railway infrastructure, and caused fires in buildings and vehicles across the city, according to the authorities in the Ukrainian capital early Friday.
"The main target of the attacks was the capital of Ukraine, the city of Kyiv!" declared the Air Force in a Telegram post.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko stated on Telegram that 14 of the injured were hospitalized. Damage was reported in six out of the city's 10 districts, on both sides of the Dnieper River that divides it. In the leafy Holosiivskyi district, the remains of a downed drone caused a fire at a medical facility, Klitschko added.
The Ukrainian state railway, Ukrzaliznytsia, the country's largest railway operator, reported that the attack damaged railway infrastructure in the capital, leading to the diversion of several passenger trains and causing delays.
Record Russian Attack: 539 Drones and 11 Missiles
Russia launched 11 missiles and 539 drones against Ukraine last night, including Shahed attack drones and replicas, in an attack that lasted almost all night and began just after US President Donald Trump called Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.
Trump expressed "discontent" after the conversation as it did not achieve "any progress" towards a negotiated solution to end the war.
Ukrainian air defenses managed to neutralize 478 of the drones and missiles in the attack, which primarily targeted Kiev. Among the missiles used were a hypersonic Kinzhal and six ballistic Iskander-M or its North Korean variant, KN-23.
Nine missiles and 63 drones hit targets, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, a higher number of impacts than usual, as reported by Efe.