Russia and Ukraine Trade Deadly Strikes as Zelenskyy Heads to UN Meeting with Trump

Russia launched a large overnight assault on Ukraine, striking at least four regions with missiles and drones and killing four people, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday. The attack came as Ukrainian forces carried out their own long-range strike on a Russian oil refinery, continuing a daily exchange of aerial attacks that has persisted even as front-line positions remain largely static.

The bombardment served as a backdrop to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to the United States, where he is due to meet other world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, at the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Zelenskyy is seeking support to end Russia's full-scale invasion, now more than four and a half years old. Russian President Vladimir Putin is not scheduled to attend the annual gathering.

According to Ukraine's air force, Russia's overnight attack involved anti-ship, ballistic and cruise missiles, along with more than 200 drones. The strikes killed four people in the central city of Dnipro, said Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration. Homes, businesses and storage facilities were damaged across the affected regions, and at least five people were wounded in Kyiv, officials said.

Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces targeted metallurgical and chemical industries, the fuel and energy sector, the military-industrial complex and port infrastructure in four Ukrainian regions. It identified a Fire Point plant in Kyiv that produces components for long-range cruise missiles and a tobacco factory in the central Poltava region used for small-arms ammunition. The ministry also said its air defenses downed 297 Ukrainian drones over 14 Russian regions and the annexed Crimean Peninsula.

Ukraine said its forces struck the Kuibyshev oil refinery in Samara, southeast of Moscow, in an overnight attack. Several drones hit their targets, igniting a large fire at the facility, according to a statement from Ukrainian special forces. The refinery, owned by Rosneft, is a key fuel supplier for central Russia, producing gasoline, diesel, fuel oil and other petroleum products. Ukraine said it struck the same refinery last June. Samara regional Gov. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said one person was killed and four others were wounded, adding that "the enemy targeted industrial facilities" without specifying which ones.

The repeated strikes on Russian refineries, following Moscow's attacks on Ukraine's power grid, have contributed to international diesel shortages and price spikes, according to Trump. The global crunch also followed the Iran war, which curtailed oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Zelenskyy also wants help ensuring the flow of Ukrainian grain and other farm products to world markets through the Black Sea. Russian attacks on cargo vessels have severely disrupted Kyiv's exports, hurting its economy and threatening global supplies.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that France would provide Ukraine with more radars to help protect its power grid. He said on social media that he discussed with Trump the possibility of a truce between Moscow and Kyiv on strikes against energy infrastructure and a "moratorium" on Black Sea attacks.

Zelenskyy began his New York visit by meeting U.S. senators, thanking them for what he called strong bipartisan support for Ukraine and for recently passing a tougher Russian sanctions bill that Trump has signed into law. He said peace and security would be closer once the bill is fully implemented. Zelenskyy said on social media that he briefed senators on his proposals for de-escalation measures he intends to discuss with Trump later Tuesday. He also plans to press Trump again to send more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, which Kyiv says it needs to stop Russia's ballistic missiles.

The war, which Western officials say has killed more than 500,000 Russian troops, has had global repercussions.