More Than 60 Casualties in Russia’s Indiscriminate Airstrikes; Putin Warns, “European Deployment Would Mean War with Russia”

[Financial News] Russia and Ukraine, where hopes for an end to the war had risen after an envoy from U.S. President Donald Trump visited earlier this month, exchanged large-scale airstrikes over the weekend, intensifying the fighting. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has drawn attention by saying he is willing to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Group of Twenty (G20) summit in December.
According to The Associated Press (AP) and other foreign media outlets on the 12th (local time), at least five civilians were killed and more than 60 people were injured in Russian missile and drone strikes targeting locations across Ukraine overnight.
In southern Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia, a residential building was hit by a drone attack, killing two people and injuring one. In the central city of Kryvyi Rih, an ArcelorMittal steel plant and other sites were struck, leaving one person dead. A grocery store in the Zhytomyr region was also attacked, killing two people. In the Black Sea port city of Odesa, a large-scale airstrike destroyed the upper floors of a high-rise apartment building and injured 35 people.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy strongly condemned the attacks in a post on X, formerly Twitter, saying, "Air defense personnel shot down more than 200 aerial targets." He added, "Russia is blatantly targeting ordinary civilians in terrorist attacks."
Ukraine immediately launched retaliatory strikes. Zelenskyy said it had hit two chemical companies in Russia’s Perm and Samara regions, key targets in the Black Sea, and a drone production facility in Taganrog. Russia’s Ministry of Defense also announced that it had intercepted 230 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory.
As the intense exchange of attacks continued, tensions between the two countries’ leaders also escalated.
Speaking to reporters at the BRICS summit in India, Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to discussions about European countries deploying troops to Ukraine and warned, "If they send troops to Ukraine, that would mean war with Russia." He added, "We have never threatened Europe, nor do we intend to do so."
By contrast, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Deutsche Welle (DW) that he would be willing to meet Putin if both leaders were invited to the G20 summit in Miami, United States, in December.
Russia maintained that it was open to negotiations while insisting that its military operation would continue. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, "Russia is ready to negotiate," but stressed, "The special military operation (the war in Ukraine) will not be suspended during the negotiations." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the proposal, saying, "Putin has already said that if he really wants to meet, Zelenskyy can fly to Moscow."
[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter