MOSCOW, August 19(MSN)-Hours after US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held peace talks at the White House, Russia unleashed its largest aerial assault on Ukraine in a month, targeting energy infrastructure with 270 drones and 10 missiles. Ukraine’s air force downed 230 drones and six missiles, but 16 sites, including Poltava oblast’s Kremenchuk, were hit, leaving nearly 1,500 homes and 119 businesses without power.
Russia’s defense ministry claimed it struck an oil refinery supplying Ukraine’s military, a facility repeatedly targeted this year. Poltava’s governor reported damage to administrative buildings but no casualties.
Ukraine’s energy ministry condemned the attack as a violation of international humanitarian law, noting over 2,900 strikes on energy infrastructure since March. Kremenchuk’s mayor, Vitalii Maletskyi, accused Putin of rejecting peace, stating the city endured “tens of blasts” during the talks. Meanwhile, Putin’s aide Yury Ushakov expressed gratitude to Trump for progress toward peace, highlighting ongoing US-Russia dialogue on the crisis.
