Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Moscow would accomplish all its goals by force if Ukraine did not want to resolve their conflict peacefully.
Putin’s remarks, carried by state news agency TASS, followed a vast Russian drone and missile attack that prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to say Russia was demonstrating its wish to continue the war while Kyiv wanted peace.
On Saturday, explosions boomed across Kyiv as the attack began in early morning and continued for hours.
“This attack is Russia’s answer on our peace efforts,” Zelenskyy said after stopping in Canada to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Carney announced $1.8 billion worth of economic assistance to Ukraine that helps unlock financing from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for reconstruction and development.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that it carried out a “massive strike” overnight, using “long-range precision-guided weapons from land, air and sea, including Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missiles” and drones. It said it targeted energy infrastructure facilities used by Ukraine’s forces and military-industrial enterprises.
The ministry said the strike was in response to Ukraine’s attacks on “civilian objects” in Russia.
Earlier on Saturday, the ministry said air defenses shot down seven Ukrainian drones over the Russian regions of Krasnodar and Adygeya overnight. On Saturday afternoon, the ministry said 147 more drones were shot down over a number of Russian regions.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defenses intercepted more than 20 drones “flying towards” the Russian capital on Saturday. He didn’t report any damage or casualties.
On Sunday, Zelenskyy is set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida for further talks on ending the nearly four-year war. He told reporters that several matters will be discussed, including security guarantees and territorial issues in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
