Ukrainian and Russian attacks kill 3 civilians as Zelenskyy prepares to
meet Trump
[September 22, 2025]
Ukrainian attacks on Russia's Belgorod border region
killed two civilians while Russian shelling of eastern Ukraine left a
man dead, officials said Sunday.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod, wrote on the Telegram
messaging app that a woman was killed when shelling struck a private
home in the border town of Shebekino, while a man died in a drone strike
on the village of Rakitnoe.
The Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, has faced frequent
cross-border attacks since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of
Ukraine in February 2022.
In Ukraine, a man was killed and residential buildings and
infrastructure were damaged by Russian shelling in Kostiantynivka in the
Donetsk region, Serhii Horbunov, head of the city’s military
administration, said Sunday.
The latest round of attacks came after Russia launched a large-scale
missile and drone attack targeting regions across Ukraine on Saturday,
killing at least three people and wounding dozens. Russia launched 619
drones and missiles during the attack, Ukraine’s air force said.
Also on Saturday, Estonia summoned a Russian diplomat to protest after
three Russian fighter aircraft entered its airspace without permission
Friday and stayed there for 12 minutes, the Foreign Ministry said. It
happened just over a week after NATO planes downed Russian drones over
Poland and heightened fears that the war in Ukraine could spill over.
Writing on social media site X on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy said Ukraine had been targeted by “more than 1,500 strike
drones, over 1,280 guided aerial bombs, and 50 missiles of various
types” over the previous week.
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Noting that “thousands of foreign components” were found in the
Russian weaponry, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was “counting on the 19th
EU sanctions package to be truly painful, and on the United States
to join the Europeans.” European Commission President Ursula von der
Leyen presented the package of sanctions on Friday.
Zelenskyy expects to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on the
sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week, where he
has said he hopes to gauge how close Ukraine and its partners are to
finalizing long-term security guarantees.
Trump on Sunday morning in an exchange with reporters very briefly
addressed the Russian incursion into Estonian airspace.
“We don’t like it,” Trump said. Asked if the U.S. would back Poland
and other Baltic states if they continue to face Russian aggression,
Trump responded, “I will.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry on Saturday denied its aircraft violated
Estonia’s airspace.
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