Zelenskyy brings de-escalation plan to Trump amid deadly overnight strikes

Russia bombarded at least four Ukrainian regions overnight with missiles and drones, killing four people in the city of Dnipro, while Ukrainian forces struck a major oil refinery deep inside Russia, officials said Tuesday. The exchanges came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in New York for the U.N. General Assembly, where he is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump to press for air defense systems and discuss de-escalation proposals.ktvn+1

Overnight Barrages on Both Sides

Ukraine's air force said Russia's overnight attack included anti-ship missiles, ballistic missiles, four cruise missiles and more than 200 drones targeting at least four regions. Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said four people were killed and six wounded in Dnipro, with missiles and drones heavily damaging businesses and warehouses. Five people were also wounded in Kyiv, according to officials. An attack on a power facility in the northern Chernihiv region left nearly 100,000 consumers without electricity.aljazeera+2

Ukrainian special forces said they struck the Kuibyshev oil refinery in Samara, roughly 1,000 kilometers southeast of Moscow, sparking a large fire at the Rosneft-owned facility. One person was killed and four wounded in the Samara region, according to regional Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev. Russia's Defense Ministry said it intercepted 297 Ukrainian drones over 14 regions overnight.dw+2

Zelenskyy's Diplomatic Push

Zelenskyy began his New York visit by meeting U.S. senators, thanking them for what he called strong bipartisan support and for passing a tougher Russian sanctions bill that Trump has signed into law. He said on social media that he briefed lawmakers on de-escalation proposals he intends to discuss with Trump later Tuesday.ktvn+1

French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that France would provide Ukraine with more radars to protect its power grid. He said he discussed with Trump the possibility of a truce on strikes against energy infrastructure and a "moratorium" on Black Sea attacks, where Russian strikes on cargo vessels have severely disrupted Ukrainian grain exports.indiatoday+1

War's Widening Toll

The daily aerial exchanges, while front-line positions barely shift, underscore the grinding nature of a war now more than four and a half years old. Western officials say the conflict has killed more than 500,000 Russian troops. Zelenskyy plans to again press Trump to send more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems that Kyiv says it desperately needs to counter Russia's ballistic missiles.dw+2

"Russia is not backing down from its escalation and is sending many signals that it is ready to expand the war," Zelenskyy said on social media ahead of his trip.wjcl