A large-scale Russian drone attack against Ukraine took place Wednesday, killing six people ​and ‌wounding dozens across the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr ‌Zelenskyy said. The attack comes shortly after a ceasefire between the two sides ended.

The attack represents one of the longest and largest ​attacks in Russia’s war in Ukraine, Zelenskyy said. 

“Since midnight, ‌at ​least 800 Russian drones have already been launched, ​and the attack is ongoing, with ⁠additional ​drones entering our ​country’s airspace,” he wrote on ‌X.

Zelenskyy said the attack was “deliberately targeting our railway infrastructure and civilian sites in our cities.”

The overnight strikes targeted Ukraine’s residential and railway infrastructure in the central Dnipro and northeastern Kharkiv regions, port infrastructure in the southern Odesa region, and energy facilities in the central Poltava region, according to Zelenskyy.

He added that Ukraine’s western regions, closest to ⁠the borders ​with NATO countries, were targeted.

The Polish army said it had scrambled fighter jets as a preventative measure due to the Russian air strikes on Ukraine.

Attacks come as Trump and Xi meet

Zelenskyy condemmed the attacks, saying it “cannot be called a coincidence” that the attack has taken place at the same time that US President Donald Trump arrived in China for a high-profile state visit.

“In this difficult geopolitical moment, Russia is clearly trying to disrupt the overall political atmosphere and draw attention to its evil — seeking to do so at the expense of Ukrainian lives and Ukrainian infrastructure,” he wrote on X.

“It is important to support Ukraine and not remain silent about Russia’s war. Every time the war disappears from the top of the news, it encourages Russia to become even more savage,” Zelenskyy said, a reference to the world’s attention being caught by the Iran war.

On Tuesday, prior to the attack, Trump said he believes Moscow and Kyiv will soon reach a deal to end fighting. “The end of the war in Ukraine I really think is getting very close,” Trump told reporters as he left for Beijing.

Russia’s use of drones ‘evolving’

Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser ⁠to ​the defense minister, said the attack involved large numbers of drones moving along between 5 kilometers and 10 kilometers (between 3 and 6 miles) from ​the Belarus border with the aim of overwhelming ‌Ukraine’s air defenses and break through to the western regions.

Beskrestnov noted that the strike highlighted the evolving use of drones ​by Moscow, with tactics changing from attack to attack.

Russia has denied intentionally attacking civilians, despite thousands of them dying in its attacks against Ukraine. Moscow has said strikes on civilian infrastructure are legitimate if they weaken Ukraine’s ability to fight.

Edited by: Wesley Dockery