Russian President Vladimir Putin during theira meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on August 18, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP
An overnight Russian attack that rocked the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk and left hundreds of customers in the Poltava region without power shows that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want peace, regional Ukrainian officials said.
During a summit at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump told President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday (August 18, 2025) that the United States would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any deal to end Russia’s war there.
Also Read | Takeaways from Trump-Zelenskyy meeting: Praise, security talks, more meetings
After the meeting, Mr. Trump called the Russian leader and began arranging a meeting between Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelenskyy.
“At the very same time when Putin was assuring Trump over the phone that he seeks peace, and when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was holding talks at the White House with European leaders about a just peace, Putin’s army launched yet another massive attack on Kremenchuk,” Vitalii Maletskyi, Mayor of the city that lies in the Poltava region, said on the Telegram messaging app.
Mr. Maletskyi added that tens of blasts shook the city.
“Once again, the world has seen that Putin does not want peace — he wants to destroy Ukraine.”
The scale of the attack was not clear. Ukraine’s Air Force said overnight that the central Ukrainian region was under the threat of a cruise missile attack.
Also Read | Five killed in Russian drone attack on Ukraine apartment block in Kharkiv
Poltava Governor Volodymyr Kohut said that the attack damaged administrative buildings of a local power infrastructure operation.
“Fortunately, there were no casualties,” Mr. Kohut said on Telegram.
He said that in the Lubny district nearly 1,500 residential and 119 commercial customers were left without power.
There was no immediate comment from Russia. Both sides have been targeting infrastructure key to the military in their strikes during the war on each other’s territory, including energy infrastructure.
Russia said on Tuesday (August 19, 2025) that Ukraine’s overnight drone attack sparked fires at an oil refinery and a hospital roof in the Volgograd region.
Also Read | Putin and Zelenskyy set for Russia-Ukraine peace summit after Trump talks
Russia’s drone attack on Chernihiv region damages infrastructure, Governor says
Russia’s morning drone attack on Ukraine’s Chernihiv region damaged infrastructure with power cuts reported in parts of the northern region, the regional Governor said.
“Some settlements are experiencing problems with electricity supply. Energy workers and rescuers are already working on restoration,” Governor Viacheslav Chaus wrote on the Telegram messaging app on Tuesday (August 19, 2025).
Published – August 19, 2025 12:06 pm IST
