Russia accuses Ukraine of stepping up attacks ahead of Trump-Putin meeting

MOSCOW — Russia on Wednesday accused Ukraine of ramping up attacks ahead of the August 15 meeting between the US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska. 

In a statement shared on X, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that 22 people have been killed and another 105 injured due to Ukraine's shelling and drone strikes over the past week. The ministry also shared a map marking the attacked areas in the Russian territory.

"With the Russia US Summit approaching, the Kyiv regime has stepped up its terrorist activity against Russian regions. Over the last week, 127 Russian citizens suffered from shelling and drone attacks. 22 died, 105 were wounded," said Alexei Fadeev, the Russian Foreign Ministry's Deputy Spokesperson.

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Earlier in the day, the Russian Defence Ministry accused the Ukrainian government of planning a provocation aimed at disrupting the upcoming meeting between Trump and Putin. In a post on Telegram, the Russian Defence Ministry said, "According to available information received through several channels, the Kyiv regime is preparing a provocation to foil the Russian-American talks scheduled for 15 August 2025."

The ministry asserted that with this objective, the security service of Ukraine has sent a group of foreign journalists to Kharkiv's Chuguev, which is under the control of Kyiv, under the pretext of doing "reports on the residents of the city in the frontline zone." The defence ministry also claimed that the Ukrainian forces will carry out the strikes on the city and blame it on Russia.

"Immediately ahead of the summit on Friday, the Armed Forces of Ukraine plan a provocative strike using UAVs and missiles against one of the densely populated residential quarters or a hospital with a large number of civilian casualties, which will have to be immediately recorded by the foreign Western journalists," said the Russian Defence Ministry.

As a result, the ministry said that the Russian forces will be considered fully responsible for the strikes and civilian casualties. "This will create a negative media background and conditions for disrupting Russian-American cooperation on settling the conflict in Ukraine," the statement read.

Amid the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, Russian military units liberated the settlements of Suvorovo and Nikanorovka in Donetsk over the past 24 hours, Russia's state-owned news agency TASS reported. According to the report, Russian air defence systems have brought down 240 Ukrainian drones, nine aerial bombs and four HIMARS projectiles in one day. The Russian Armed Forces targetted the locations of Ukrainian formations and foreign mercenaries in 136 districts in one day.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Russian army is "not preparing to end the war" in Ukraine and is instead making movements that indicate preparations for new military operations. He expressed support for Trump's determination but, at the same time, called for taking positions that will not allow Russia to "deceive the world".

"I am grateful to the leaders of Europe for their clear support of our independence, territorial integrity, and precisely such an active approach to diplomacy that can help end this war with a dignified peace. Indeed, we all support President Trump’s determination, and together we must shape positions that will not allow Russia to deceive the world once again. We see that the Russian army is not preparing to end the war. On the contrary, they are making movements that indicate preparations for new offensive operations. In such circumstances, it is important that the unity of the world is not threatened," Zelensky posted on X.

"Issues related to the security of Ukraine and Europe are discussed by all of us together. Any decision must add to our joint security capabilities. And if Russia refuses to stop the killings, it must be held accountable. As long as they continue the war and occupation, all of us together must maintain our pressure – the pressure of strength, the pressure of sanctions, the pressure of diplomacy. I thank everyone who is helping. Peace through strength," he added.