As Russia launches a large-scale drone airstrike against Ukraine, casualties are mounting and even Eastern European countries are ratcheting up their alert levels.
According to AFP and other foreign media on the 13th local time, Russia carried out a drone attack of about 800 aircraft across Ukraine that day. That far exceeds Russia's typical drone strike scale of 200 to 300.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media that at least six people were killed in Russian drone attacks since midnight. Dozens of people, including children, were also reported injured.
The attacks targeted 20 regions within Ukraine. In the eastern Kharkiv and western Zhytomyr regions, infrastructure of the state energy company Naftogaz was also damaged.
In particular, the attack struck as far as Uzhhorod, a western Ukrainian border city adjacent to Slovakia, heightening vigilance in neighboring countries.
The Slovak government decided to close its border checkpoints with Ukraine until further notice, citing security concerns. The Slovak customs authorities said in a statement that they would tighten control in the border area.
Hungary also protested Russia's strike on western Ukraine. The newly launched government of Magyar Peter summoned the Russian ambassador to Hungary to lodge a protest, and the foreign ministry likewise condemned Russia's attack.
The massive airstrike came immediately after the United States and Russia recently raised the possibility of ending the war in Ukraine. Russia President Vladimir Putin claimed at a Victory Day press conference on the 9th that the war had entered its final stage, and United States President Donald Trump also recently mentioned the possibility of resolving the war in Ukraine.
President Zelensky criticized Russia, saying, "It is no coincidence that Russia's large-scale attack coincided with President Trump's visit to China."
Inside Ukraine, there is growing concern that the United States, in negotiations with Russia, could push an early end-of-war plan without adequately reflecting Ukraine's security guarantees.