Ukraine war 'existential', Russia says, launching revenge strikes

Ukraine war 'existential', Russia says, launching revenge strikes

The Kremlin said on Friday the Ukraine war was "existential" for Russia, after it launched a wave of retaliatory drone and missile strikes that killed at least four people.

The comments are Moscow's latest to dampen hopes for a breakthrough amid a flurry of meetings between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, as well as telephone calls between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, aimed at stopping the fighting.

On Friday -- days after the second round of Ukrainian-Russian ceasefire negotiations in Turkey ended without meaningful progress -- the Kremlin cast its three-year invasion as nothing short of a battle for the "future" of Russia.

"For us it is an existential issue, an issue on our national interest, safety, on our future and the future of our children, of our country," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, responding to remarks by Trump on Thursday comparing Moscow and Kyiv to brawling children.

Peskov's comments came shortly after the Russian defence ministry said its forces had launched the "massive" missile and drone strike in "response" to recent attacks by Kyiv on its territory.

Ahead of the talks this week in Istanbul, an audacious Ukrainian drone attack damaged nuclear-capable military planes at Russian air bases, including thousands of kilometres behind the front lines in Siberia.

Putin had told Trump he would retaliate for the brazen operation, 18 months in the planning, in which Ukraine smuggled more than 100 small drones into Russia, parked them near Russian air bases and unleashed them in a coordinated attack.

- 'A farce' -

Despite recent rounds of peace talks, Putin has repeatedly rejected a ceasefire, and has instead issued a host of sweeping demands on Ukraine if it wants to halt the fighting.

They include completely pulling troops out of four regions claimed by Russia, but which its army does not fully control, an end to Western military support, and a ban on Ukraine joining NATO.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed the demands as old ultimatums, questioned the purpose of more such talks and called for a summit to be attended by him, Putin and Trump.

Kyiv said the retaliatory Russian barrage overnight consisted of 45 missiles and 407 drones.

AFP journalists heard air raid sirens and explosions ring out over the capital throughout the night.

Zelensky, who has repeatedly said Russia wants the war to continue, responded with a call for allies to "decisively" ramp up pressure on Russia.

"Are we supposed to believe in a ceasefire after today?" Alicia, a Kyiv resident and marketing specialist, told AFP near one of the strike sites in Kyiv.

"I think it's a farce, and it was clear from the very beginning that there would be no truce. Our enemies are not interested in this at all," she added.

Zelensky said at least three people had been killed in the capital, and that Russia had targeted nine regions of Ukraine, including Lviv and Volyn in the west, which border EU and NATO member Poland.

In the western city of Lutsk, rescuers in the afternoon pulled the body of a dead man from the rubble of a nine-storey building hit overnight, the interior ministry said.

- Airfield strikes -

Deadly attacks have escalated in recent weeks.

Cities and villages have been destroyed across eastern Ukraine and millions forced to flee their homes, with Russia's forces controlling around one-fifth of Ukraine's territory.

The interior ministry said three first responders were killed in Kyiv, while Zelensky said nearly 80 were wounded in the capital and across Ukraine.

Russia's National Guard said it had killed a man as he tried to prepare a drone attack on a military site in Russia's Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow.

Moscow said Ukrainian strikes overnight on Russia wounded three people in the western Tula region, while Kyiv claimed to have staged successful attacks on two air fields deep inside Russian territory.

Footage shared on social media showed a large fire and smoke billowing into the air at an oil facility that serves a military site in Russia's Saratov region, which has been frequently targeted.

The Russian defence ministry said it downed 174 Ukrainian drones overnight. Ten downed drones were headed for the Russian capital, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.

On Friday during the day, another 18 Ukrainian drones were shot down over the Belgorod region and five others as they were heading towards Moscow.

burs/djt/phz

Originally published as Ukraine war 'existential', Russia says, launching revenge strikes