Russian forces have intensified their attacks on Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, launching a deadly missile strike on the industrial city of Samar for the second time in three days. The attack killed five people and injured 23 others, with four of the wounded in severe condition. Regional governor Sergiy Lysak reported that the attack followed missile strikes earlier in the week on both Dnipro and Samar, which killed at least 23 people.
The continued attacks on Dnipropetrovsk came as President Vladimir Putin indicated his readiness for a new round of peace negotiations with Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters in Minsk, Belarus, Putin said that Russia was ready to reduce its military budget in the long term due to budgetary pressures and the increased defence spending having fuelled inflation.
He also acknowledged that the peace proposals from Russia and Ukraine “are two absolutely contradictory memorandums”, but added, “That’s why negotiations are being organised and conducted, in order to find a path to bringing them closer together.”
Putin suggested that the two sides’ negotiators were in constant contact and that Russia was ready to return the bodies of 3,000 more Ukrainian soldiers.
He also expressed optimism about relations between Russia and the United States, attributing the improvement to efforts by US President Donald Trump. “In general, thanks to President Trump, relations between Russia and the United States are beginning to level out in some ways,” Putin said.
Meanwhile, Trump suggested that progress may be on the horizon regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine. “We’re working on that one,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “President Putin called up and he said, I’d love to help you with Iran. I said, do me a favour: I’ll handle Iran. Help me with Russia. We got to get that one settled. And I think something’s going to happen there.”
The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia had launched 363 long-range drones and eight missiles overnight into Friday, claiming that air defences stopped all but four of the drones and downed six cruise missiles. Russia’s Defence Ministry, meanwhile, said 39 Ukrainian drones were downed in several regions overnight.
In a separate development, authorities in Ukraine’s northern region of Kharkiv reported that Russian attacks killed one person and wounded three others. In the Kherson region, authorities urged residents to prepare for extended periods without power after a Russian attack hit a key energy facility. Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram that “Russians decided to plunge the region into darkness”.