Russia has carried out massive ballistic missile and drone strikes across Ukraine a day after the US stopped sharing intelligence with Kyiv that had previously given advance warnings of attacks.
The strikes came early on Friday as a Ukrainian delegation prepared to meet with US counterparts in Saudi Arabia for talks about a possible end to the war.
In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump appeared to criticise Russia’s latest bombardment.
He posted: “Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED.
“To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you!!!”
Trump’s vague threat was in contrast to the punitive steps he has already taken against Ukraine, including an end to US military supplies announced earlier this week and the intelligence shutdown.
On Friday, the US aerospace company Maxar Technologies disabled Ukraine’s access to its satellite images after a request from the Trump administration.
There were reports that Ukraine’s position on the battlefield had worsened as a direct result of hostile US actions. One source said Ukraine’s drones – used extensively across a 1,000km frontline – were “10-15% less accurate” than before.
According to Ukrainian media, North Korean troops had made significant gains in Russia’s Kursk oblast, where Ukrainian combat groups seized territory seven months ago. The North Koreans had broken through Ukrainian defences south of the Kyiv-held Russian town of Sudzha, cutting off a key road, reports said.
Ukrainian troops were now at risk of being encircled, they added. One soldier fighting in the area said the road connecting the enclave with the Ukrainian city of Sumy was still open, but under constant attack from Russian drones. “The situation is bad,” he messaged.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow launched overnight attacks on Ukraine’s energy and gas infrastructure. It targeted facilities in several regions on Friday, including Odesa and Poltava, using nearly 70 cruise and ballistic missiles and almost 200 attack drones.
“All of this was directed against infrastructure that ensures normal life,” the Ukrainian president wrote on social media. “Currently, repair and restoration work is ongoing.” He said several people were injured when a missile hit a private building in Kharkiv.
Zelenskyy is due to travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “After that, my team will stay in Saudi Arabia to work with our American partners,” he wrote. “Ukraine is most interested in peace. As we told POTUS [the president of the US], Ukraine is working and will continue to work constructively for a swift and reliable peace.”
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, the national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and the president’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, are expected to hold talks with Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenskyy’s office, and Ukraine’s defence minister Rustem Umerov.
The Trump administration has piled pressure on Ukraine amid apparent US attempts to replace Zelenskyy.
Trump said on Thursday: “I think Ukraine wants to make a deal because they don’t have a choice. I also think that Russia wants to make a deal because in a certain different way – a different way that only I know – they have no choice either.”
In the face of escalating US hostility, Zelenskyy has set out a tentative ceasefire plan. On Friday, he suggested a ban on the use of “missiles, long-range drones and aerial bombs”, as well as a suspension of military operations in the Black Sea.
“Ukraine is ready to pursue the path to peace, and it is Ukraine that strives for peace from the very first second of this war. The task is to force Russia to stop the war,” he posted on X.
Since US and Russian negotiators met in Saudi Arabia, the Kremlin has dramatically stepped up its air war against Ukraine. Its advance on land in the eastern Donetsk region has largely stopped, with Ukraine’s armed forces carrying out local counter-offensives in some areas.
An overnight strike in Kharkiv injured eight people and damaged nine apartment buildings, officials said. An adult and a child were also injured in Poltava oblast when a missile hit two housing blocks, the energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, said.
Despite the US weapons cutoff, Ukraine is still able to shoot down some – but not all – enemy missiles. On Friday, Zelenskyy said French-supplied Mirage 2000 aircraft were used for the first time together with F-16 fighter jets to protect Ukrainian skies.
He said: “The Mirages successfully intercepted Russian cruise missiles. Thank you! I also want to recognise the performance of our anti-aircraft missile forces, army aviation, all our electronic warfare units, and mobile fire groups.”
The Kremlin, meanwhile, said Russia may have to respond to what it said were EU plans to boost its military capability and to cast Russia as its enemy. The comments follow Thursday’s meeting in Brussels, in which EU leaders agreed a plan for a massive rise in defence spending.
“We see that the European Union is now actively discussing the militarisation of the EU and the development of the defence segment. This is a process that we are watching closely, because the EU is positioning Russia as its main adversary,” the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters.
