Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a large-scale aerial assault on Ukraine just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy concluded his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
As the 79-year-old American leader presses forward in his mission to end the war in Eastern Europe, his 72-year-old Russian counterpart has demonstrated open defiance of those peace efforts.
Aware of the White House summit that 47-year-old Zelenskyy attended yesterday (August 18) alongside key European leaders, Moscow responded with force. Russian troops reportedly deployed 270 drones, five cruise missiles, and five Iskander-M ballistic missiles in the overnight attack.
That is according to the Ukrainian air force who highlighted that the majority of them were intercepted.
“According to preliminary data, as of 09.00 [local time], 236 air targets were shot down/crushed by the air defense: 230 Shahed type BPLA enemies and drones-imitators of different types; 2 Iskander-M ballistic missiles; 4 winged X-101 missiles,” the force posted on Facebook.
President Donald Trump greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House ahead of meeting with European leaders (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Now, a NATO nation has confirmed fighter jets from two member-countries were scrambled following the attacks – which Ukraine understands came from the Russian occupied Crimea, as well as neighboring regions in Russia itself – Voronezh, Rostov, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Millerovo and Kursk.
Taking to social media, the Polish military alerted its residents that Polish Armed Forces were deployed as a precaution to protect the country from any attack.
“On the night of August 18 to 19, 2025, the long-range aviation of the Russian Federation once again launched missile attacks on Ukrainian territory,” it wrote.
Firefighters extinguish a fire caused by a Russian drone strike on the top floor of a multi-story residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, yesterday (Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“To ensure the safety of Polish airspace, the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces has activated all necessary procedures. Polish and allied aircraft have begun operations, and ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have reached the highest state of readiness.”
It went on to note that jets from Sweden’s air force ‘helped ensure safety in Polish skies tonight’, with some being stationed in Poland.
A burned-out building of Sumy University remains after a Russian airstrike, in Sumy, Ukraine, yesterday (Francisco Richart Barbeira/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
During yesterday’s meeting, Trump is understood to have paused the meeting for as much as 40 minutes as he phoned Putin to try and arrange a face-to-face meeting between Zelenskyy and himself.
It was the main takeaway from the meeting as the Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov noted it would be ‘worthwhile’ for the pair to sit down, and it’s thought Trump will be involved in the meeting.
In hot mic audio shared by CBS News, Trump was caught telling French president Emmanuel Macron: “I think he wants to make a deal for me, as crazy as it sounds.”
‘He’ is thought to be Putin.
