On the 1,300th day of the war in Ukraine, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that ending the conflict has become far more complicated than he initially expected, blaming the “unimaginable hatred” between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Speaking to the media, Trump suggested that he may need to personally intervene to arrange a meeting between the two leaders, noting: “They hate each other so much they barely speak.”
Meanwhile, Zelensky announced military progress in the northern Sumy region, where Ukrainian forces have been pushing back Russian troops attempting to secure a foothold. According to Ukraine’s top military command, Russian forces suffered significant losses in both Donetsk and Kharkiv along a 1,000-kilometer frontline.
In the south, the situation remains tense. Local authorities in Zaporizhzhya reported that Russian forces launched 607 attacks on 17 settlements, resulting in one death and two injuries. The assaults involved 398 drones, 191 artillery shells, and nine multiple rocket launchers, said regional military head Ivan Fedorov.
In a separate development, Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery in Kirishi, Leningrad region, Russia. While three drones were intercepted, debris caused a fire at the facility, later brought under control.
Commenting on this strike, Zelensky described attacks on Russia’s oil industry as a highly effective form of “sanctions” against the Kremlin, stressing their impact on limiting Russian military capacity.
Elsewhere, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian forces carried out missile, drone, and artillery strikes, targeting Nikopol and Synelnykove districts.
On a broader front, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski condemned last week’s Russian drone violation of Polish airspace, calling it a deliberate attempt to test NATO’s response to a controlled escalation without triggering direct military confrontation with the West.
