Trump ‘not happy’ over Russian strikes on Ukraine, White House says

Ukraine on Thursday requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the overnight bombardment, while two of Ukraine’s top envoys were set to meet Friday with the Trump administration regarding mediation.

“He was not happy about this news, but he was also not surprised. These are two countries that have been at war for a very long time,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Leavitt added that Trump would make a further statement on the situation later on Thursday.

The attack was one of the few times Russian drones and missiles have penetrated the heart of Kyiv since the start of the full-scale invasion. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 598 strike drones and decoys and 31 missiles of different types across the country early Thursday, most of them striking targets in Kyiv.

At least 33 locations across all 10 of the city’s districts were directly hit or damaged by debris, Tkachenko said. Thousands of windows shattered as nearly 100 buildings were damaged, including a shopping mall in the city center.

(With inputs from AP and Reuters)