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In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)<\/p>\n
Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP<\/p>\n
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026.<\/p>\n
Alex Brandon\/AP Photo\/Alex Brandon<\/p>\n
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian air attack in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)<\/p>\n
Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP<\/p>\n
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)<\/p>\n
Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP<\/p>\n
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) \u2014 Russian drones and missiles killed four people across Ukraine on Wednesday in attacks before dawn and at midday, as Moscow kept up its pressure on the capital of Kyiv in the latest phase of the over 4-year-old war.<\/p>\n
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Ukraine struck oil refineries in Russia’s Saratov and Tatarstan regions, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who met with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey. Trump said the U.S. would give a license to Ukraine so it could manufacture Patriot air defense systems to counter Russia.<\/p>\n
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Russia attacks Kyiv, hours apart <\/p>\n
In Kyiv, several explosions were heard shortly after midnight, even before authorities could issue an alert to give civilians time to find shelter.<\/p>\n
The early morning Russian attacks killed one woman and injured two others in Kyiv, according to city administration head Tymur Tkachenko. The State Emergency Service said the attack damaged several administrative buildings and warehouses, as well as a garage complex and several trams.<\/p>\n
Hours later, another Russian drone struck Kyiv\u2019s Desnianskyi district, killing a second person and injuring six others, Tkachenko said. A total of eight people were injured in the attacks on the capital.<\/p>\n
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In Kharkiv, two people were killed and 20 others were injured in a series of overnight strikes, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov.<\/p>\n
In Zaporizhzhia, Russian guided bomb injured a man and a woman Tuesday night, regional head Ivan Fedorov said.<\/p>\n
Ukraine\u2019s air force says Russia fired 169 long-range strike drones and seven missiles, including five ballistic missiles. Air defenses shot down or jammed 139 drones, and two anti-radar missiles didn\u2019t reach their targets, it said.<\/p>\n
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All five ballistic missiles and 20 drones struck targets at 15 locations, the air force said, underscoring the continued strain on Ukraine\u2019s air defenses.<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s Defense Ministry said it struck an arms industry facilities in Kyiv, hitting a plant that manufactured components for Flamingo cruise missiles and a facility assembling mid- and long-range drones.<\/p>\n
Trump cites a better relationship with Zelenskyy<\/p>\n
In Ankara, Trump said the U.S. will give a license to Ukraine to manufacture Patriot air defense systems to defend against Russian missile attacks like those that have been striking Kyiv in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
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It would be a huge coup for Ukraine, which badly needs the systems that are expensive, in high demand and take a long time to produce. Zelenskyy long has been asking for more Patriot systems, as well as the license to produce them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll give them the right to make Patriots. We\u2019ll show them how to do it,\u201d Trump said, sitting next to Zelenskyy. \u201cI think they can produce them pretty quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tone of their meeting was a markedly different from an earlier, acrimonious encounter at the White House in February 2025 when Trump berated Zelenskyy. On Wednesday, he praised the Ukrainian leader’s willingness to reach a deal to ending the war, saying he has \u201cdone an amazing job\u201d and \u201cbeen very effective.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve actually developed a good relationship. It\u2019s hard to believe,\u201d Trump said, adding he believed a deal on ending the war was on the horizon and that the U.S. would \u201cwork on some kind of security package\u201d for Ukraine.<\/p>\n
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Zelenskyy thanked Trump for his support and said he wanted to discuss weapons supplies, possible peace negotiations and a developing drone deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cAir defense is the priority,\u201d Zelenskyy said, adding that Kyiv wanted to share details of its needs under the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, in which European allies and Canada are buying American weapons to help his country.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian and U.S. officials had begun work on a drone deal, calling it \u201ca very good beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump was expected to have another call with Putin following his meeting with Zelenskyy.<\/p>\n
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Ukraine strikes Russian oil and gas facilities<\/p>\n
The ministry also said air defenses downed 415 Ukrainian drones from late Tuesday to early Wednesday. Gov. Roman Busargin of Russia’s Saratov region said a Ukrainian drone attack killed one person, injured several others and damaged industrial facilities.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian long-range attacks reached the Saratov, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan regions deep inside Russia, as well as the Voronezh region, closer to the Ukrainian border. The strikes hit refineries in Saratov and Tatarstan, the latest energy facilities struck by Ukraine that have worsened fuel shortages across Russia.<\/p>\n
In the Tatarstan region, Nizhhnekamsk Mayor Radmir Belyayev said Ukrainian drones damaged industrial facilities in the city and injured several people. Belyayev didn\u2019t identify the damaged facilities.<\/p>\n
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Sergei Aksyonov, the Moscow-installed head of the Crimean Peninsula that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, said restrictions on civilian fuel sales would continue and that gasoline would not be available \u201con certain days.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aksyonov said many of the decisions being made to resolve the crisis could not be disclosed publicly, adding that he was giving regular updates to Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fuel supply situation remains strained and will continue to be so for some time,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are monitoring this issue closely in coordination with the federal government and are working on a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s Gazprom state-controlled gas company said Ukrainian drones attacked the Krasnodarskaya compressor station serving the Blue Stream natural gas pipeline to Turkey late Tuesday. It said the attack was intended to derail Russian gas shipments to Turkey, but there was no disruption of supplies.<\/p>\n
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called it another \u201cdangerous\u201d attack against \u201cthe critical international energy system\u201d and voiced hope that Turkey and other nations would warn Kyiv against such action.<\/p>\n
Rostov regional Gov. Yuri Slyusar said Ukrainian drones damaged two oil tankers in Taganrog Bay, injuring two crew members. The crew of one of the ships had to be evacuated.<\/p>\n
He said there was no oil spill because the tankers heading to the port of Rostov-on-Don were empty.<\/p>\n
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Seung Min Kim in Ankara, Turkey, and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed.<\/p>\n