Russia-Ukraine war: 12 killed in Zaporizhzhia, 3 die in Sumy drone strike
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Ukrainian attacks on holiday camps in Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia killed 12 people, including four children, with 19 others injured, according to Kremlin-installed regional head Yevgeny Balitsky; Ukraine did not immediately comment on the claim.
- A Russian drone strike in Sumy killed three Nova Poshta courier drivers after hitting a civilian facility, regional head Oleh Hryhorov said, while Russia's defence ministry claimed it had targeted a drone storage and launch site.
- Zelenskyy confirmed Ukrainian long-range drone strikes hit the Tyumen Oil Refinery in western Siberia, a logistics facility in Yekaterinburg, and a fuel and lubricants warehouse in Rostov-on-Don.
- Trump and Zelenskyy are scheduled to meet in Washington on Tuesday, per a White House official speaking anonymously; the meeting coincides with a memorial service for the late Senator Lindsey Graham.
- Romania's air force shot down a drone that entered its airspace near the Ukrainian border using an F-16 — the second such interception in two days, following a drone downed near Padina northeast of Bucharest.
- The weekend exchanges followed a Russian attack near Kyiv on Friday that killed at least 10 people and injured around 100, while Zelenskyy warned in his Friday address that intelligence showed Russia preparing missiles for a large attack within 48 hours.
Why it matters: Ukraine's long-range drones now reach western Siberia while Russian drones are breaching NATO airspace in Romania, and at least 25 Ukrainian civilians have died in 48 hours across Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, and Kyiv. The Tuesday Trump-Zelenskyy meeting lands against a sharply escalating battlefield rather than a stabilizing one.
