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Russia launched over 1,250 bombs, 750 drones at Ukraine during Trump's first week in office

by The Kyiv Independent news desk January 26, 2025 5:45 PM 2 min read
Ukrainian air defenses firing at Russian drones early on July 31, 2024, in an unspecified location in Ukraine amid Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. (President Volodymyr Zelensky/Telegram)
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Russia fired 1,250 aerial bombs, over 750 attack drones, and 20 missiles at Ukraine in the last week, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan 26.

The attacks targeted Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Donetsk, Kherson, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts. One of the worst attacks of the week killed at least one person and injured 45 in Zaporizhzhia after Russian forces pummeled the city with drones and missiles, hitting apartment blocks.

Overnight on Jan. 25-26, Russian troops launched 72 drones. Ukraine’s air defense downed 50, said the Air Force.

“Long-range capabilities are crucial. Sanctions are essential. Lowering the price of oil is important. The key is to act in unity and protect lives with resolve,” Zelensky wrote on social media.

In one of his first address since taking office, President Donald Trump threatened to leverage sanctions against Moscow as well as tackle oil prices that keep Russia’s economy afloat.

During his speech to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Jan. 23, Trump said that lowering oil prices would end Russia’s war against Ukraine “immediately.” He said he would ask the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to decrease oil prices.

He’s also pushed for ramped-up drilling for U.S. oil and gas which could also undermine Russia’s fuel sector.

A day before the WEF, Trump said that if a "deal" to end the war in Ukraine was not reached soon, he would have no choice but to "put high levels of taxes, tariffs, and sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States and other participating countries."

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10:57 PM

Trump administration weighs sanctions relief for Russia, Reuters reports.

The White House has directed the State and Treasury departments to compile a list of sanctions that could be lifted, according to sources. While internal government offices routinely prepare such options, the White House’s direct request signals a serious consideration of sanctions relief.
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Ukrainians react to Trump-Zelensky clash.

In the wake of the Feb. 28 clash between U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, the Kyiv Independent went to the streets of Kyiv to ask Ukrainians what they think of the now infamous meeting.
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