Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned a massive Russian attack on June 6 that targeted multiple regions across the country as US President Donald Trump's hopes for a quick deal to end the more than three-year-old war fade.
"Russia doesn't change its stripes -- another massive strike on cities and ordinary life," Zelenskyy said in a post on X. He added that the assault involved over 400 drones and more than 40 missiles, including ballistic missiles. That would make it one of the largest aerial attacks since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.
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Kyiv Pounded By Massive Russian Drone, Missile Strikes
According to Zelenskyy, 49 people were wounded in the aerial attacks, though the number was preliminary and may rise. At least four people were killed, including three firefighters -- Pavlo Yezhor, Danylo Skadin, and Andriy Remenniy -- who were working under shelling to assist people, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported in a Telegram post.
Zelenskyy urged the international community, particularly the United States and Europe, to take stronger action against Russia. Trump has so far refused to impose new sanctions on Russia despite Moscow's repeated aerial attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, including apartment buildings.
"If someone is not applying pressure and is giving the war more time to take lives, that is complicity," he warned. "We must act decisively."
Massive Russian Strikes Rock Kyiv
The intense attack lasted several hours and reportedly involved cruise missiles and kamikaze drones. All the fatalities were in Kyiv, the capital.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said drones had struck the upper floors of a high-rise apartment building on the east side of the city and started a fire.
Ukraine's air force said the city had been targeted by drones and Kalibr cruise missiles. The sound of Russian kamikaze drones buzzing overhead accompanied by the sounds of Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire could be heard during the attack, Reuters reported.
The massive attack comes two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Trump during a call that Moscow would respond to Ukraine's June 1 surprise attack on Russian airfields that destroyed numerous long-range bomber aircraft.
SEE ALSO: 'Now The War Has Reached Us Too,' Russians Far From Ukraine Say After Drone AttacksUkraine's Security Service (SBU), which carried out the attack, claimed that more than 40 bombers were hit. RFE/RL could not confirm that number. Videos posted to social media by the SBU showed several Russian bombers in flames following drones strikes.
Trump spoke with Putin by phone on June 4 and described the call as a "good conversation," though he noted it was not the kind that would lead to immediate peace.
Trump said Ukraine's surprise attack was one of the topics discussed.
"We discussed the attack on Russia's docked airplanes by Ukraine, and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides," Trump said.
SEE ALSO: Where Things Stand After Ukrainian Drone Strikes Deep In Russia, Istanbul Talks, And A Trump-Putin Phone CallTrump met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on June 5 at the White House to talk about cooperation on Ukraine and other topics.
Merz, who took office last month, told reporters ahead of the Oval office meeting that he was not expecting major breakthroughs on tariffs, NATO, or the war in Ukraine. Afterward, he said he was "extremely satisfied" with how things went.
He said the United States and Germany both agree on “how terrible this war is," while making sure to lay blame squarely on Putin for the violence and stress that Germany sides with Ukraine.
"We are both looking for ways to stop it very soon," Merz said. "I told the president before we came in that he is the key person in the world who can really do that now by putting pressure on Russia."
Trump has made ending the war in Ukraine a top priority since taking office more than four months ago. To get the ball rolling, he held a call with Putin just three weeks into his new term, ending the West's diplomatic isolation of the Kremlin leader.
Trump initially demanded Russia and Ukraine agree to a 30-day temporary cease-fire. While Zelenskyy accepted Trump's proposal, Putin has repeatedly rejected it, insisting instead that the sides first agree on certain pre-conditions before pausing hostilities.
Many Western officials and experts say Putin has no interest in peace at this point in the war and is merely going through the motions to appease Trump. The US president seemed to concede that his peace efforts were not working and that the war would continue for some time.
“Sometimes you see two young children fighting like crazy,” Trump said as Merz looked on. “They hate each other, and they’re fighting in a park, and you try and pull them apart. They don’t want to be pulled. Sometimes you’re better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart.”
Following Russia’s overnight attacks on June 6, US Democratic leaders introduced legislation urging the administration to identify additional air defense systems that could be transferred to Ukraine.
According to a statement published on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s website, the US air defense systems are the only ones that have proven effective in protecting the war-torn country from Russian ballistic attacks.
The resolution also called on Trump to approve the "re-export" of US air defense systems that are currently owned by other "allies and partners" of the United States.