Swarms of Russian drones attacked Ukraine’s major cities overnight as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepared to join European leaders for a meeting in Paris aimed at reinforcing Kyiv’s position in any peace settlement.
The Ukrainian air force reported downing and jamming most of 86 explosive-laden drones and decoys fired by Russia in the barrage. But those that evaded air defenses did some serious damage in Ukraine’s second- and third-largest cities of Kharkiv and Dnipro respectively.
President Vladimir Putin’s forces targeted Kharkiv, situated close to the Russian border, with drones late on Wednesday, injuring 11 people in the city and at least seven in the nearby town of Zolochiv, regional governor Oleh Synehubov said on Telegram.
Drones also hit the central part of Dnipro overnight, injuring three and damaging apartment blocks as well as infrastructure, regional governor Mykola Lukashuk said. The drones also damaged Potyomkin Palace, the 18th-century building erected as a symbol of Russia’s imperial might which now houses a center for creative youth, city mayor Borys Filatov said on Telegram.
The attacks happened with Zelenskyy in France for an impromptu defense summit where more than 30 leaders will try to assert their priorities even as U.S. President Donald Trump sidelines Europe in his quest for a fast-track resolution of the war sparked by Russia.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who met with Zelenskyy ahead of the summit, announced a new defense aid package of €2 billion ($2.2 billion) for Kyiv. Macron plans to use the meeting to discuss potential deployment of a European peacekeeping force in strategic locations across Ukraine to prevent a new attack from Russia after any peace deal is reached.
Strikes have continued despite an agreement by Ukraine and Russia to halt attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure. Russian air defenses downed just one Ukrainian drone during the night over the Bryansk region, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Telegram Thursday.
Ukrainians’ trust in Zelenskyy increased to 69%, up 2 percentage points from early March, according to a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) released on the eve of the summit.
Zelenskyy’s popularity peaked after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 as citizens rallied round the flag, and then steadily declined until his public standoff with Trump at the White House.
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