Ukraine suffered another bombardment of aerial attacks from Russia Friday night into Saturday morning as successful talks toward a peace deal to end the war appear far from happening.
There were 114 aerial attacks on Ukraine via drones and missiles overnight, with at least 10 people being killed and 33 others injured due to the Russian attacks, according to ABC News. Russia has continued heavy attacks on Ukrainian cities even as President Donald Trump attempts to broker peace and a ceasefire between the countries.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this week that “Russian strikes are becoming increasingly brazen and large-scale every night” and has encouraged western allies, like the U.S., to exert more pressure on Russia to agree to a ceasefire and end to the war.
Trump, who was more critical of Ukraine in earlier months this year, has recently become increasingly critical of Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.
Last weekend, Trump said he would “absolutely” consider sanctions on Russia when talking with reporters and added that he was “not happy” with Putin’s continued attacks on Ukrainian cities.
On Tuesday, Trump continued to express his frustration with Russia, saying that Putin was “playing with fire.”
“What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire!” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
RUSSIAN AND US OFFICIALS RATCHET UP RHETORIC AS PROGRESS ON PEACE STALLS
Trump then said in remarks Wednesday that he would give the Russian president two weeks to show he was serious about ending the Russia-Ukraine war or if he was “tapping us along.”
The U.S. president had claimed on the campaign trail last year that he would quickly resolve the conflict that broke out in February 2022, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but getting the two countries to a peace deal has taken significantly longer than he predicted.