KYIV: United States President Donald Trump said Russia just wanted to “keep killing people” and hinted at sanctions after Moscow launched its largest ever drone and missile attack on Ukraine in the three-year-old war.
Trump said on Friday (Jul 4) he was “very unhappy” about his telephone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, saying: “He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people, it’s no good”.
The US president said he and Putin talked about sanctions “a lot”, adding: “He understands that it may be coming”.
Hours-long Russian bombardments sent Ukrainians scurrying for shelters across the country and came after the call between Trump and Putin, which ended without a breakthrough.
AFP journalists in Kyiv heard drones buzzing over the capital and explosions ringing out throughout the night as Ukrainian air defence systems fended off the attack.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also spoke to Trump on Friday and said they agreed to work on bolstering Kyiv’s defences.
“We spoke about opportunities in air defence and agreed that we will work together to strengthen protection of our skies,” Zelenskyy said on social media after the call.
Tymur, a Kyiv resident who said he had experienced previous Russian attacks, told AFP that the assault in the early hours of Friday felt different from others.
“NOTHING LIKE THIS HAPPENED”
“Nothing like this attack had ever happened before. There have never been so many explosions,” he said.
The Kremlin said on Friday it was “preferable” to achieve the goals of its invasion through political and diplomatic means.
“But as long as that is not possible, we are continuing the special operation,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, referring to Russia’s invasion.
At least three people were wounded in Russian drone and artillery strikes on several parts of Eastern Ukraine overnight from Friday to Saturday, regional governor Sergiy Lysak said on Telegram.
