No response returned

Russia targeted Ukraine overnight with 574 drones and 40 missiles, the Ukrainian Air Force said. Most of the weapons were intercepted by Ukraine's air defenses, but the massive assault was far from unusual, and officials said at least one person was killed and 15 injured. 

Ukrainian officials said the Russian attack hit energy infrastructure, private homes, an American electronics factory — where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the 15 injuries were sustained, and a kindergarten.   

"Last night, the Russian army set one of its insane anti-records. They struck civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, and our people," Zelenskyy said in posted on social media. He called the electronics plant an "American investment" and an "ordinary civilian enterprise" producing "everyday items as coffee machines."

"This is also a target for the Russians. Very telling. The fire is still being extinguished at the enterprise. As of now, 15 people are known to have been affected by this strike. All of them have been provided with the necessary assistance," he said.

Alluding to President Trump's efforts to broker a peace deal to end the war, including the bilateral summit between Mr. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin just a week earlier, Zelenskyy condemned Moscow for launching the new strike "as if nothing had changed at all. As if there were no efforts by the world to stop this war."

"A response is needed," he added. "So far, there has been no signal from Moscow that they are really going to engage in meaningful negotiations and end this war. Pressure is needed. Strong sanctions, strong tariffs."

There has been a lot of talk — outside of Ukraine — about a peace deal amid Mr. Trump's ramped-up diplomacy. But inside Ukraine, people continue to live and die in a war zone more than three years after . Many in the country, like their president, simply don't believe that Putin really wants to end the war. They think he's just playing along with the ceasefire narrative to avoid angering Mr. Trump.

In the meantime, Putin's army continues to expand its . The Russian defense ministry claimed Thursday that forces had captured yet another village in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.

Major Taras Berezovets of the Ukrainian forces told TheNews that even if Putin were to agree to a ceasefire, the Russian leader simply should not be trusted.

"Absolutely not," Berezovets told TheNews. "He's a cheater, he's a criminal … and he would never accept the fact that independent Ukraine still exists."

That is why Ukraine wants security guarantees — a promise of protection from the U.S. and its NATO allies in the event Russia should invade again after any eventual ceasefire is implemented.

President Trump has been adamant that such a guarantee would not involve U.S. boots on the ground, and Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that Europe would have to bear most of the costs.

Getting all sides, including Russia, to agree to those security guarantees may be next to impossible, however. After his meeting with Putin, Mr. in Washington to hold separate talks, and said he was working on organizing a direct summit between the Ukrainian and Russian leaders.

But Moscow has downplayed the any time soon, and officials have said Russia should be included in any looming discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine.

In a post on his own social media platform, Mr. Trump said Thursday — without mentioning the latest violence in the war — that it was "very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders country. ... There is no chance of winning! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia."

Mr. Trump said his predecessor, Joe Biden "would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND." He added, without any further explanation, that there were "Interesting times ahead!!!" 

In November, just weeks before he handed the presidency back to Mr. Trump, Biden  that had effectively barred Ukraine from using U.S.-supplied missiles to strike deep in Russia.

The French government issued a statement Thursday condemning the latest Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine, and backing Zelenskyy's assertion that it belied Putin's stated interest in a peace agreement. 

"While Russia claims to be ready to negotiate, it continues at the same time its deadly attacks on Ukrainian territory," said the statement, attributed to a deputy spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry. "These attacks, the most massive in a month, illustrate Russia's lack of any genuine intention to engage seriously in peace talks. They once again underscore the urgent need to put an end to the killings, and therefore to maintain and step up pressure on Russia. France reiterates its support for President Trump's initiative in favor of a just and lasting peace and will continue to work with determination alongside Ukraine and its partners."