Russia’s army launched its largest aerial attack in a month on Ukraine hours after Donald Trump held fresh peace talks with Volodymyr Zelensky.
Moscow’s army launched 270 drones and 10 missiles at central Ukraine in its latest attack, hitting key parts of the country’s energy infrastructure shortly after the Ukrainian leader concluded peace talks at the White House.
Ukraine’s air force said it downed 230 drones and six missiles. It also recorded strikes at 16 locations with four missiles and 40 drones.
Poltava, on the eastern side of central Ukraine, was particularly impacted as citizens were left without power and blasts shook the city of Kremenchuk. Russia’s defence ministry also claimed to have struck an oil refinery in the city which was supplying fuel to Ukrainian armed forces, according to Russian state news agency Interfax.
Kremenchuk is home to Ukraine’s only oil refinery, which has been repeatedly attacked by both drones and missiles. Kyiv authorities have not confirmed whether the refinery is operational. Russia attacked Ukrainian oil refining infrastructure twice in June.
Poltava governor Volodymyr Kohut said that the attack damaged administrative buildings of a local power infrastructure operation.
“Fortunately, there were no casualties,” Kohut said on Telegram. He said that in the Lubny district nearly 1,500 residential and 119 commercial customers were left without power.
Large-scale fires erupted after Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the country’s energy ministry confirmed.
In a statement on Telegram, the ministry said: “Russian occupation forces carried out another massive attack on the energy infrastructure facilities of Poltava region, simultaneously using cruise missiles and strike drones.
“The attack caused large-scale fires. The last strikes on oil refining infrastructure were recorded on June 15 and 21 of this year.
“The enemy continues systematic terrorist attacks against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which is a direct violation of international humanitarian law.”
Since March 2025, more than 2,900 attacks on energy infrastructure have been carried out, according to Ukraine’s energy ministry.
Vitalii Maletskyi, mayor of Kremenchuk city in Ukraine’s Poltava region, has said that Putin does not want peace as his city was bombed during talks of peace.
He said on Telegram: “At the very same time when Putin was assuring Trump over the phone that he seeks peace, and when President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was holding talks at the White House with European leaders about a just peace, Putin’s army launched yet another massive attack on Kremenchuk.”
Maletskyi added that tens of blasts shook the city: “Once again, the world has seen that Putin does not want peace — he wants to destroy Ukraine.”
Putin’s aide Yury Ushakov said on Monday morning that the Russian president had expressed his “heartfelt gratitude” to Trump “for the hospitality and perfect arrangements at the Alaska Summit, as well as for the progress they were able to achieve towards bringing about a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine crisis.”
He continued that the US and Russian leaders “reaffirmed their commitment to continuing direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.”
Ushakov said of the “frank and constructive” conversation that it was “quite telling “ that the two agreed to keep in touch “on the Ukrainian issue and other urgent international and bilateral matters.”
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