Major Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine kills 1, injures 15
[August 21, 2025]
By SAMYA KULLAB
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched one of its biggest aerial attacks
of the year on Ukraine, firing 574 drones and 40 ballistic and cruise
missiles overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said Thursday, while a
recent diplomatic push to stop the three-year war is trying to gain
momentum.
The attack mostly targeted western regions of the country, the air force
said, where much of the military aid provided by Ukraine’s Western
allies is believed to be delivered and stored. The strikes killed at
least one person and injured 15 others, according to officials.
It was Russia’s third largest aerial attack this year in terms of the
number of drones fired and the eighth-largest in terms of missiles,
according to official figures. Most such Russian attacks have hit
civilian areas.
The strikes occurred during a renewed U.S.-led effort to reach a peace
settlement following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of its neighbor.
U.S. President Donald Trump discussed the war with Russian President
Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week, and at the start of this week hosted
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the
White House.
Ukraine and European leaders have accused Putin of stalling in ongoing
peace efforts, including Ukraine's proposal of a ceasefire and
Zelenskyy's offer to sit down with the Russian leader. The Kremlin has
reacted coolly to those possibilities.
Zelenskyy condemned the overnight attack, saying it was carried out “as
if nothing were changing at all.”
Moscow has shown no signs of pursuing meaningful negotiations to end the
war, Zelenskyy said. He urged the international community to respond
with stronger pressure on Moscow, including tougher sanctions and
tariffs.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has kept up its attacks with domestically produced
long-range drones on infrastructure inside Russia that supports Moscow's
war effort. Among other targets, it has hit oil refineries, and Russian
wholesale gasoline prices have reached record highs in recent days.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia struck a “major
American electronics manufacturer” in western Ukraine. He provided no
further details but Zelenskyy said the company produces domestic
appliances.
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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks in Lafayette Park,
across from the White House, after meeting with President Donald
Trump and European leaders Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP
Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Western parts of Ukraine are far from the battlefield’s front line
in the east and south of the country, where a grinding war of
attrition has killed tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides.
In comments Wednesday that were embargoed until Thursday, Zelenskyy
said Ukraine will hold intensive meetings to understand what kind of
security guarantees its allies are willing to provide.
The details are being hammered out by national security advisers and
military officials. The plans will become clearer within 10 days,
Zelenskyy said. He then expects to be ready to hold direct talks
with Putin for the first time since the full-scale invasion.
The talks could also be conducted in a trilateral format alongside
Trump, Zelenskyy said.
A venue for the meeting is being discussed, and Switzerland, Austria
and Turkey are possibilities, Zelenskyy added.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that working
on security arrangements in Ukraine without Moscow’s involvement was
not feasible, according to state news agency RIA Novosti.
Zelenskyy said that in his meeting with Trump in the Oval Office on
Monday he sought to convince the American president that the
battlefield situation was not as bad for Ukraine as Putin portrayed.
Zelenskyy pointed to errors in the U.S. map of the front line that
he said showed Russia holding more territory than it actually does.
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