President Trump said Sunday that he is “in the process of negotiating peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine,” even as the two countries continue to trade attacks, including one of the largest airstrikes of the war on kyiv. Smoke rose on Sunday at an oil export terminal and depot in St. Petersburg, which was set on fire after Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia. At least one person was killed and five others wounded in the attack in St. Petersburg, which sparked fires at the Petersburg oil terminal and the city’s Ruchi oil depot, local governor Alexander Beglov said. A logistics center belonging to Russian retailer Ozon and a data center operated by Russian tech giant VK were also attacked, the companies confirmed. Smoke rises over the city following an airstrike on the St. Petersburg oil terminal on October 18, 2026, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. AFP via Getty Images Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday that its forces had destroyed 1,015 Ukrainian drones in 15 Russian regions, Ukraine’s annexed Crimea peninsula and the Black Sea. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s state news agency Tass that kyiv was “resisting” Moscow’s invasion but could not “change the current course of events.” Meanwhile, in Ukraine, a woman was killed and a 6-year-old girl was among at least two other people. injured in two Russian attacks in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, local officials said Sunday. Fishermen fish in the Neva River as smoke rises over the city following an airstrike on the St. Petersburg oil terminal on October 18, 2026, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. AFP via Getty Images The attacks came as tensions between Ukraine and Washington deepened. President Trump has recently criticized his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and kyiv’s attacks on Russian oil infrastructure. Meanwhile, there is still uncertainty about the prospect of new US sanctions against Moscow. Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Zelenskyy said waiving sanctions against Russia would strengthen Putin’s war effort. He also said that intelligence sharing between the United States and Ukraine had resumed after being “blocked for some period of time.” Trump told reporters Saturday night that they didn’t know what his decision would be on new sanctions against Russia, despite signing an executive order Friday night waiving the planned restrictions, citing U.S. national interests. way,” Trump said. He also continued to criticize Zelenskyy, chiding him again for “targeting diesel refineries in Russia” and claiming that he “doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did.” “Your country has been in ruins for two years, much of your land is lost, your oceans and seas are gone, and your male population is low, injured and/or dead,” Trump wrote. Zelenskyy previously said that while he trusted Trump, siding with Moscow would be a tragedy and a “historic mistake” for Washington, truly,” Zelenskyy said. “We cannot compare myself to Putin. He is an aggressor. He occupied us. He killed adults and children, his soldiers. He is a terrorist. And that is why I hope that President Trump is very clear with this position.” Later on Sunday, Zelenskyy said on social media that he had spoken with U.S. presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about the results of an Oct. 9 meeting between the U.S. and Ukrainian negotiating teams in Miami, as well as “next steps.” in diplomacy.” People walk through dark streets during a power outage amid the war between Russia and Ukraine and falling temperatures in Lviv, Ukraine, on October 17, 2026. Olena Znak/Anadolu via Getty Images He also accused Moscow of breaking Trump’s “energy ceasefire” 76 times and warned that Russia planned to deprive Ukrainians of heat and electricity before winter. The Ukrainian government initially said it was respecting the halt fire. Energy facilities in four Ukrainian regions were attacked overnight, leaving tens of thousands of families without power, he said, accusing Russia of trying to cause a blackout “The United States should see that Russia is not taking any reciprocal action in response to sanctions relief or agreements. Instead, they take every sign of a money-making opportunity as proof that their bet on war is paying off and that they can keep fighting,” he wrote. Go deeper with The Free Press at:
