Russia conducted overnight drone attacks on Ukrainian targets, continuing days of aerial assaults that have dimmed hopes for progress in peace efforts following last week’s Alaska summit.
Ukraine’s military reported that it intercepted or downed nearly 36 of the more than 50 drones Russia fired early on August 23. Casualties and damage on the ground remain unclear. This number was smaller than earlier attacks in the week, including a rare strike in western Ukraine on August 21, which hit a US-owned manufacturing plant, injuring several workers. Ukrainian firefighters have since extinguished the resulting blaze.
Russia, meanwhile, claimed that Ukraine launched dozens of drones at Russian targets, most of which were intercepted.
Diplomatic Stalemate
The summit in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to produce concrete results. Trump signaled the possibility of new sanctions against Russia while leaving open the chance for a Putin-Zelenskyy summit. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described talks with European leaders as a “road to nowhere,” emphasizing that no meeting is currently planned.
Putin praised Trump, calling him “the light at the end of the tunnel” for US-Russia relations, while Trump gave a two-week deadline to decide on potential sanctions or tariffs.
Zelenskyy Calls for Direct Talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of blocking a direct meeting with Putin, emphasizing that such a summit is critical to ending the war. Ukraine is under martial law, preventing elections, but officials remain open to discussions. Zelenskyy and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte stressed the need for robust security guarantees, potentially similar to NATO’s Article 5, ensuring collective defense for Ukraine.
