Kyiv gas station hit, civilian wounded

Ukraine strikes Russian refinery region

Russia vows to keep fighting during talks

US President Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday (local time). [AFP]
US President Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday (local time). [AFP]

Russia and Ukraine exchanged fresh drone strikes less than a day after US President Donald Trump announced the two sides had agreed to stop attacking each other's energy facilities.

Russia's declaration that it would not halt military operations even during negotiations has deepened skepticism about whether the announced truce can translate into a genuine ceasefire.

A gas station in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv came under a drone strike in the early hours of Tuesday (local time), wounding one civilian, according to Reuters and other news outlets.

Local authorities said Russia has been systematically targeting Ukrainian gas stations in recent months, with roughly 300 sites struck over that period.

Foreign media reported explosions heard across Kyiv from the early morning hours, with a warehouse facility also hit by Russian drones. Cargo vessels traveling to and from Ukraine's Chornomorsk port on the Black Sea were also reported to have been targeted.

In response to the Russian drone attacks, neighboring Poland scrambled military aircraft as a precautionary measure, though Polish military authorities said no drones had violated its airspace. Tensions in Poland have been running high since Sunday, when Russia struck the Volyn region of Ukraine just 2 kilometers from the Polish border.

Russia warned that if Poland took military action against it, Poland "would cease to exist as a state within two to three days."

Lithuania also issued a drone alert in the early morning hours, with NATO fighter jets shooting down one drone.

Ukraine, meanwhile, pressed overnight attacks targeting sites in southern Russia, including an Ozon warehouse in Taganrog. The Samara region along the Volga River was also struck, according to Russian regional authorities. The area is home to a concentration of large oil refineries.

With both sides continuing to trade blows less than a day after Trump's "energy truce" claim, analysts say easing tensions will be far from straightforward.

Trump took to social media on Monday to argue that the Russia-Ukraine war had driven up global diesel prices, claiming both sides had agreed not to strike energy targets.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would cooperate with a ceasefire if Russia stopped its attacks, but signaled doubt about the announcement, saying he was "not convinced that Russia is willing to abide by any agreement." Bloomberg reported that Zelensky and Trump had offered conflicting accounts of the truce deal.

Russia said it welcomed its allies' de-escalation efforts but made clear it would continue using military force. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that Russia "welcomes its partners' initiatives to resolve the conflict," but added that "the special military operation will not stop during negotiations."


th5@heraldcorp.com