Ukraine War Day 1,239: Russia launches heavy bombing after Trump's ultimatum

Kiev [Ukraine], July 17: US President Donald Trump has given Russia 50 days to reach a deal to end the conflict, prompting fears in Ukraine that Moscow will escalate its attacks to maximise its advantage before negotiations.
Just a day after President Trump set a deadline and warned of tariffs on Russia , Ukrainian cities have been hit by drone and missile attacks from Moscow.
The Ukrainian Air Force said yesterday (July 16) that Russia began its attack early in the day, with a series of explosions recorded across the cities, according to The Kyiv Independent . The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 400 UAVs, including 255 Shahed suicide planes, along with an Iskander-M ballistic missile.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 198 UAVs while 145 decoys disappeared from radar screens or were intercepted by electronic warfare. The missile and the remaining 57 UAVs fell in 12 locations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said energy infrastructure was targeted and at least 15 people were injured in the attack.
The leader said Russia is still maintaining its strategy of intensifying its bombing this summer with drones and missiles. He said that to counter it, Ukraine needs to strengthen its defenses with more air defense systems, more interceptor missiles and more determination.
The attacks in recent days have frustrated Mr. Trump, who has decided to issue an ultimatum to Russia and agree to transfer weapons to Ukraine . Kyiv and Europe believe that 50 days is too long and are concerned that Moscow will continue bombing during this time. However, the US President said on July 15 that 50 days is not too long.
Russia has not commented on last night's attack in Ukraine. It has long insisted that it does not attack civilian targets.
The Russian Defense Ministry said yesterday that it had taken control of the Novokhatske settlement in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Kyiv has not commented on this information.
Russia calls on Ukraine to resume negotiations
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on July 16 called on all partners to pressure Ukraine to participate in the next round of direct negotiations with Russia, according to TASS.
"The mediation efforts mainly from the United States, President Trump and his team, played a key role. Even though there have been many statements and statements about disappointment, hopefully at the same time there will be some pressure put on the Ukrainian side," Peskov said.
"It seems that the Ukrainian side is taking any support for them not as a signal for peace but as a signal to continue the fighting," Mr. Peskov added.
The second round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul (Türkiye) in early June. The sides exchanged draft memoranda on each side's views on resolving the conflict. The two sides also agreed to exchange prisoners.
Earlier, Russian officials said that so far, Ukraine has not proposed a date and time for the next talks between the two sides.
Meanwhile, Ukraine said it had proposed a 30-day ceasefire, but Russia objected and only agreed to a 2-3 day ceasefire to collect soldiers' bodies, so no agreement was reached.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has proposed a direct meeting between the two countries' leaders in the next round of talks, but Russia has refused, saying this should only happen after lower-level agreements are reached first.
US transfers weapons to Ukraine, Russia closely monitors
President Donald Trump said on July 16 that interceptor missiles for the Patriot air defense system had been delivered to Ukraine, two days after he announced an agreement with NATO to provide weapons to Kyiv."They have been shipped. They are being shipped from Germany and will be replaced. In all cases, the United States has received full payment," the leader told reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.
The German government previously said that NATO countries in Europe were negotiating to buy more than three Patriot systems for Ukraine. Mr. Trump said that Europe would buy American weapons and send them to Ukraine.
Western media reported that France and Italy would not participate in the program. France refused because President Emmanuel Macron is pushing Europe to strengthen its defense industry by buying domestically produced weapons. In addition, the country is facing budget constraints.
Italy did not participate due to financial constraints and its desire to focus on other weapons systems rather than buying directly from the US. However, Italy called for finding other ways to contribute to the broader effort.
Western media reported that Mr. Trump also considered providing long-range air-to-surface missiles JASSM, which have a range of up to 1,000 km depending on the version, to Ukraine. However, President Trump denied this information and advised Kyiv not to attack the Russian capital Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Peskov said Russia was closely following discussions on supplying long-range weapons to Ukraine.
EU proposes 100 billion euro budget for Ukraine
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on July 16 announced a proposal for a 2 trillion euro operating budget for the European Union (EU) for the period 2028-2034, according to Reuters. The budget includes 100 billion euros for Ukraine. "We are setting aside 100 billion euros for Ukraine," said Ms. von der Leyen.
The proposal needs to be supported by all 27 member states and approved by the European Parliament.
On the other hand, the EU on July 16 failed to approve the 18th package of sanctions against Russia due to two opposing countries, Slovakia and Malta, diplomats told Reuters.
The Slovak government has said it will not approve sanctions against Russia unless it is guaranteed it will not suffer damage if the EU goes ahead with plans to phase out Russian gas.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper