Russia attacks Ukraine after Putin's call with Trump

Russia launched a series of drone strikes that struck civilian areas overnight and damaged a hospital in Ukraine following the refusal by President Vladimir Putin to back a full 30-day ceasefire during discussions with his American counterpart.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the attacks continue to strike Ukraine's energy infrastructure, despite Putin's agreement to immediately cease attacks on the power grid. Zelenskyy said that Moscow's refusal to halt all strikes proved the need for increased pressure on Moscow to prevent Putin from prolonging the war.

“This confirms that we must continue to pressure Russia for the sake of peace,” he said March 18 night. "Only a real halt to Russia's attacks on civilian infrastructure can signal a genuine desire to end this war and bring peace closer.”

The White House described the call between US President Donald Trump and Putin as the first step in a “movement to peace” that it hopes will include a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and eventually a full and lasting end to the fighting.

But there was no indication that Putin backed away from his conditions for a prospective peace deal, which are fiercely opposed by Kyiv.

Shortly after the two leaders wrapped up their lengthy phone call, air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv, followed by explosions as residents took shelter.

Despite efforts to repel the attack, several strikes hit civilian infrastructure, including a direct drone strike on a hospital in Sumy and attacks on cities in Donetsk region. Russian drones were also reported over Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Chernihiv, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, and Cherkasy regions.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported Wednesday that its air defenses intercepted 57 Ukrainian drones over the Azov Sea and several Russian regions — the border provinces of Kursk and Bryansk and the nearby regions of Oryol and Tula.

Separately, authorities in the Krasnodar region bordering the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, reported that a drone attack there started a fire at an oil depot.

(PTI Synidicate: AP)