Russia launches major drone attack on Ukraine, killing six

KYIV: Russia launched a large daytime drone assault on Ukraine on Wednesday, hitting critical infrastructure in the country’s west, killing at least six people and prompting neighbouring Poland to scramble fighter jets, officials said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the attack was still continuing into the evening, with Russia also using missiles. Writing on Telegram while attending a security conference in Romania, he said Moscow had launched at least 800 drones since midnight.

Zelenskiy said the strikes were deliberately aimed at regions nearest the borders of NATO member states. He added that six people were killed and dozens were wounded in the attack, which also affected other parts of the country.

"It certainly cannot be called a coincidence that one of the longest massive Russian attacks against Ukraine takes place precisely at the time when the President of the United States arrived for a visit to China," Zelenskiy said on Telegram.

Infrastructure hit as Poland responds

Ukraine’s railway infrastructure was struck 23 times during the barrage, according to a presidential adviser, although rail traffic continued to operate.

The Polish army said it scrambled fighter aircraft as a precaution because of the Russian strikes on Ukraine.

The attack was the first major assault since a three-day ceasefire brokered by the United States between Ukraine and Russia ended on Monday.

Hungary summons Russian ambassador

Hungary also reacted strongly to the strikes. The country’s government, described in the report as now being more aligned with the European mainstream, condemned attacks on parts of Ukraine where ethnic Hungarian communities live and summoned the Russian ambassador.

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said, after the new government’s first cabinet meeting, that the Russian ambassador had been called to the foreign ministry on Thursday morning for a meeting with Foreign Minister Anita Orban.

According to Magyar, Orban will condemn the attack during the meeting and ask the ambassador when Russia intends to end the war, which has lasted more than four years.

Zelenskiy welcomed Budapest’s move, calling it an important message.

Under Hungary’s outgoing government, which was voted out earlier this month, Budapest had blocked aid for Ukraine and sought to slow Kyiv’s efforts to join the European Union.

The latest wave of attacks underscored the continued intensity of the war despite the brief pause in fighting earlier this week.