Zelenskyy says fresh Russian attack on Ukraine shows Putin's 'true attitude' ahead of Trump meeting

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A fresh Russian attack against Kyiv involving hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles is putting the “true attitude of Putin and his inner circle” on display, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday, as he prepared to meet with President Donald Trump.

The overnight blitz in Ukraine’s capital left at least one person dead and 27 injured, local authorities told the Associated Press. It unfolded as Zelenskyy is set to meet with Trump in Florida on Sunday, where he said he will share a 20-point peace proposal to end the conflict with Russia.

“Another Russian attack is still ongoing: since last night, there have been almost 500 drones – a large number of ‘shaheds’ – as well as 40 missiles, including Kinzhals. The primary target is Kyiv – energy facilities and civilian infrastructure,” Zelenskyy wrote on X on Saturday morning. “Regrettably, there have been hits, and ordinary residential buildings have been damaged. Rescuers are searching for a person trapped under the rubble of one of them.”

“There have been many questions over the past few days – so where is Russia’s response to the proposals to end the war offered by the United States and the world? Russian representatives engage in lengthy talks, but in reality, Kinzhals and ‘shaheds’ speak for them. This is the true attitude of Putin and his inner circle,” Zelenskyy added. “They do not want to end the war and seek to use every opportunity to cause Ukraine even greater suffering and increase their pressure on others around the world.”

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Zelenskyy also said Saturday that, “If Russia turns even the Christmas and New Year period into a time of destroyed homes and burned apartments, of ruined power plants, then this sick activity can only be responded to with truly strong steps.”

“The United States has this capability. Europe has this capability. Many of our partners have this capability. The key is to use it,” he declared.

Trump, ahead of the meeting with Zelenskyy, has said he will call the final shots on a peace deal to end the conflict.

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Explosion from drone striking apartment building in Kyiv, Ukraine

“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump told Politico Friday. “So we’ll see what he’s got.”

The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday that it carried out a “massive strike” overnight, using “long-range precision-guided weapons from land, air, and sea, including Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missiles” and drones, on energy infrastructure facilities “used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” as well as “Ukrainian military-industrial complex enterprises.”