Russia Launches Year's Biggest Airstrike On Ukraine Amid Fresh US Mediation Effort

In its biggest aerial attack this year, Russia launched 574 drones and 40 missiles at Ukraine. The attack was carried out overnight, claimed the Ukrainian Air Force on Thursday. 

According to AP, the attack mostly targeted western regions of the country. The airstrikes killed at least one person and injured 15 others, according to officials.

Russia hit a "major American electronics manufacturer" in western Ukraine, according to Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. 

Ukraine's western regions are far from the eastern and southern front lines of the conflict.  AP reported that it is believed that a large portion of the military assistance sent by Ukraine's Western partners is delivered and kept there.

According to official data, this was Russia's eighth-largest aerial attack this year in terms of missiles and third-largest in number of drones fired.

The attacks took place amid a renewed attempt by the United States to mediate a peace agreement in the three-year conflict that followed Russia's invasion of its neighbour.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, denounced the attack, claiming it was executed "as if nothing were changing at all."

He called on the international community to respond with further pressure, including more severe sanctions and tariffs, as Moscow has not demonstrated any interest in engaging in serious talks to end the war.

He claimed that Russia "wasted several cruise missiles against an American business," pointing out that it was a typical civilian company that made household appliances like coffee makers. “And that too became a target for Russia. Very telling."

Following indications that the United States might support further talks aimed at bringing an end to the war, Zelenskyy earlier stated that Ukraine would have extensive consultations to ascertain what sort of security guarantees its partners are willing to provide.

Zelenskyy believes, according to AP, that within ten days, the specifics will become more apparent as they are being worked out by military authorities and national security advisers.  Then, for the first time since the full-scale invasion, he anticipates being prepared to have direct discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kyiv still does not have clarity over what kind of support it can expect from allies. A coalition of more than 30 countries has, in principle, pledged to contribute to security guarantees, but talks came to a standstill when the U.S. remained ambivalent about its role.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said working on security arrangements in Ukraine without Moscow’s involvement would not work, according to state news agency RIA Novosti.

“We cannot agree with the fact that it is now proposed to resolve collective security issues without the Russian Federation. This will not work. We have already explained more than once that Russia does not overstate its interests, but we will ensure our legitimate interests firmly and harshly,” Lavrov said at a news conference on Wednesday.

“Today we have a positive signal from America, from President Trump, from his team, that they will be participants in the security guarantees for Ukraine. And this opens up the possibility for other countries,” he added. “Now, the general staff of key countries have already started talking about what they are ready for. And some countries that were not there will probably appear now.”

These talks have been rekindled by recent encouraging indications from Trump that the United States will back "Article 5-like" security assurances and Ukraine's aspirations to join the European Union, Zelenskyy added.