Ukrainian officials said Saturday night's strikes showed Russia had no intention of stopping the war, despite international pressure for a ceasefire. "For Russia, the negotiations [on Friday] in Istanbul are just a pretence. Putin wants war," said Andriy Yermak, a top aide to the Ukrainian president. Following the talks in Turkey, Trump had suggested there would be no progress towards peace until he and Putin meet face-to-face. The US president has proposed a 30-day ceasefire agreement and threatened tougher sanctions if Russia doesn't comply.

Within hours of Putin agreeing to halt attacks on energy infrastructure, Zelensky said "there have been hits, specifically on civilian infrastructure", including a hospital in Sumy. Zelensky said that Russia launched more than 40 drones against Ukraine in the hours following the call between Trump and Putin. "It is these types of night-time attacks by Russia that destroy our energy sector, our infrastructure, and the normal life of Ukrainians," Zelensky said. "Today, Putin effectively rejected the proposal for a full ceasefire." Meanwhile, the Russian defence ministry said of the 57 Ukrainian drones it intercepted and destroyed overnight, 35 were over the Kursk border region.