4 days ago
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KYIV: US 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 Friday 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". Trump 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. Ukraine said it struck a Russian air base on Saturday. Ukraine's military General Staff said Ukrainian forces had struck the Borisoglebsk air base in Russia's Voronezh region, describing it as the home base of Russia's Su-34, Su-35S and Su-30SM fighter jets. Writing on Facebook, the General Staff said it hit a depot containing glide bombs, a training aircraft and "possibly other aircraft." Russian officials did not immediately comment on the attack.
Such attacks on Russian air bases aim to dent Russia's military capability and demonstrate Ukraine's capability to hit high-value targets in Russia. Last month, Ukraine said it destroyed over 40 Russian planes stationed at airfields deep in Russia's territory in a surprise drone attack.Russia fired 322 drones and decoys into Ukraine overnight into Saturday, Ukraine's air force said. Of these, 157 were shot down and 135 were lost, likely having been electronically jammed.
According to the air force, Ukraine's western Khmelnytskyi region was the main target of the attack.Now, Trump says Ukraine will need Patriot missiles US President Donald Trump said Ukraine would need Patriot missiles for its defenses, after speaking with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he had a good call with Zelensky, repeating that he was "very unhappy" about his call with Putin a day earlier, given what he called the Russian leader's refusal to work on a ceasefire.Asked whether the US would agree to supply more Patriot missiles to Ukraine, as requested by Zelensky, Trump said: "They're going to need them for defense... They're going to need something because they're being hit pretty hard." Trump touted the efficacy of the Patriot missiles, calling the weapon "pretty amazing."The US has paused some shipments of military aid to Ukraine, including crucial air defense missiles.
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