Russia struck the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk overnight, leaving a thick column of smoke hovering over the city in an attack that the local mayor called a sign that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want peace.
The bombardment on that city as well as other locations in Ukraine was Russia’s largest so far in August, according to the Ukrainian air force. It followed Donald Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders in Washington on Monday as the U.S. president seeks an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Moscow launched 270 drones and 10 missiles, the Ukrainian air force said. Although it said it had downed 230 of the drones, it said 16 sites were struck.
“While hard work to advance peace was underway in Washington, D.C…. Moscow continued to do the opposite of peace: more strikes and destruction,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X.
The governor of Poltava region, where Kremenchuk is located, said there were no casualties but nearly 1,500 households were left without electricity.
The Energy Ministry said energy facilities were hit in the attack, resulting in damage and a large fire.
The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces hit an oil refinery supplying Ukraine’s military. Kremenchuk is home to a large refinery, although the ministry did not say if this was the one that was struck.
Russian officials also said a Ukrainian drone attack overnight caused fires at an oil refinery and a hospital roof in the Volgograd region.
Both sides have been targeting infrastructure including oil facilities on each other’s territory.
“Once again, the world has seen that Putin does not want peace — he wants to destroy Ukraine,” said Kremenchuk Mayor Vitalii Maletskyi.
A photo posted by the mayor showed a vast, dark column of smoke billowing upwards and trailing across the sky.
Maletskyi said scores of blasts shook the city, targeting energy and transport infrastructure. He warned local residents not to approach or touch unexploded cluster munitions from Russian missiles which had been found in the city.
A Tuesday morning drone attack by Russia on Ukraine’s Chernihiv region also damaged infrastructure. Local energy official said more than 30,000 households lost power.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne, Anastasiia Malenko and Yuliia Dysa in Kyiv Writing by Max Hunder and Lidia Kelly Editing by Tom Hogue, Kim Coghill and Frances Kerry)