Russian drone strikes killed at least four people in Ukraine overnight and into September 27, including one person in the capital, Kyiv, and three in the southeastern Zaporizhzhya region, Ukrainian officials said.
In Kyiv, a man was killed when a Russian drone struck a nonresidential building in the Solomyansky district, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said.
A fire broke out at a car-repair facility in the same district, while another nonresidential building was hit, the agency said.
It shared images showing firefighters battling fires at the damaged buildings.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a Russian strike on the Shevchenkivsky district injured a woman and two 16-year-old children. The three were hospitalized, he said.
In the Zaporizhzhya region in the country's southeast , three people were killed in Russian strikes, according to the regional military administration.
A man was killed in the village of Komyshuvakha, where one house was destroyed and several others damaged, it said. Two more people, a man and a woman, were killed when a Russian strike hit their car in the village of Novotavriyske.
Four people were also wounded in the attack on Komyshuvakha, the administration said.
Trump Tells Kyiv To 'Settle' War
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has declined to confirm that he had agreed to allow Ukraine to produce Patriot missiles, despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's statement on September 25 that Trump had made a “final decision” to grant Kyiv a license to produce the air-defense missiles.
Asked about the Patriot agreement on September 26, Trump said he wanted Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin to “settle” their war.
Trump and Zelenskyy met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 22.
“We talked about a lot of different subjects, and many of those subjects...very strong agreement,” Trump told reporters about the meeting.
“But you know what I want him to do? Make a deal. I want him to settle with Putin, and I want Putin to settle with him.”
Zelenskyy said after the meeting that he hoped Washington would help end the war “as soon as possible.” He has also called on Trump to maintain pressure on Moscow, including through new sanctions.
Zelenskyy: Putin Seeks Excuses To Keep Fighting
In his latest nightly video address, Zelenskyy said Moscow is showing no signs it is ready to end its war on its neighbor and he called on the West to remain united in efforts to force the Kremlin to the negotiating table.
“Obviously, the Russians are not preparing to stop their war, at least for now,” Zelenskyy said, citing intelligence reports that Moscow is intending to hike spending on deadly jet-powered drones and other munitions.
Putin “always finds some lame excuse -- not to meet, not to hold a trilateral, not to talk, not to end it, not to stop the killing.”
“It has been the same with him for years – and all our partners feel it. He is looking for excuses to keep waging the war. It always sounds the same -- and our recent meeting with the US president showed that,” Zelenskyy added in the September 26 address.
'Expand Their War'
The Ukrainian leader claimed that Russia plans to spend $12 billion in the upcoming year on the production of “jet-powered drones and loitering munitions alone -- just on this one category of weapons.”
“This directly concerns our partners as well. Many intelligence services have information that the Russians want to expand their war, their activities, to more countries. Perhaps to other regions. That is why we need to build our defense together. That is why we need to defend ourselves together, preventively.”
He said Ukrainian air defenses have been able to intercept 55 percent of jet-powered drones launched by Russia as overnight attacks on Kyiv and other cities have become increasingly frequent as cold weather starts to set in.
“We are working on this together -- with America, with Europe, with Canada, with Japan, and with many others around the world who are helping us, helping Ukraine, helping our people,” he added.
Zelenskyy wrote on social media that “we ask President Trump to implement the Lindsey Graham Act against Russia and everyone who props up its war financially."
The law, signed by Trump a week ago, gives the president sweeping new authority to impose sanctions and tariffs on Russia, its energy sector, and foreign governments and entities that help Moscow evade existing restrictions.
The Ukrainian president told journalists in New York that Washington had proposed holding what would be the first Ukraine-Russia-US meeting in many months at a relatively low "technical level," with the United Arab Emirates serving as host.
While there was no immediate confirmation from the United States, Putin said that all peace proposals were "on the table" but added that Moscow had to weigh its interests.
More Infrastructure Hit
French news agency AFP said an analysis of data from a leading conflict monitor indicate a significant increase in strikes against Ukraine's infrastructure over recent months.
It said figures compiled by the Armed Conflict Location and Event (ACLED) show Russia has struck twice as many warehouses in the Kyiv region over the past three months as in all previous years of the war combined.
ACLED recorded some 100 strikes or series of strikes on civilian storage facilities in the Kyiv region since mid-June, up from just 50 between February 2022 and mid-June of of this year.
