Fiery Ping-Pong Between Ukraine and Russia: Deaths, Fires and Concerns

26th July 2025

3 minutes read

Fiery Ping-Pong Between Ukraine and Russia: Deaths, Fires and Concerns

The flames of bombardments are raging in both Russia and Ukraine, where the battlefronts resemble a game of table tennis, or “ping-pong,” with the difference being the nature of the ball.

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Two people were killed in an attack carried out by a drone in the Rostov region in southwestern Russia, while a Russian strike in Ukraine killed one person in the city of Dnipro in the east of the country, according to Russian and Ukrainian officials.

The governor of Rostov region, Yuri Slyusar, said via Telegram: “In the Zimovnikovski area (…) a fire broke out in a car following a drone attack. Two people were killed.”

The Russian Defense Ministry announced that air defense systems destroyed and intercepted 54 drones, including 24 in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine, on Friday night into Saturday.

“Luxury Skyscraper”

In Ukraine, the mayor of Dnipro (east), Boris Filatov, announced via Telegram that one person was killed in a “luxury skyscraper,” lamenting the “lack of shelter” and urging residents “not to stay on the upper floors” during the shelling.

Meanwhile, the governor of Kharkiv region (northeast) reported three injuries in shelling on the city of Zmiiv.

Earlier, Kharkiv’s mayor, Igor Terekhov, said on Telegram that the city had been “the target of a complex attack lasting nearly three hours.”

He added, “The enemy used various types of weapons simultaneously: guided bombs, ballistic missiles, and drones.”

In Zaporizhzhia (south), fires were reported following Russian attacks, and one of these strikes hit a residential building without causing injuries according to preliminary reports, explained governor Ivan Fedorov.

Potential Summit

Away from the battlefield and within political corridors, efforts continue to end the worst conflict in Eastern Europe since World War II.

On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that negotiators from Kyiv and Moscow discussed the possibility of a meeting between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin during their talks in Istanbul this week.

However, the Kremlin ruled out such a meeting in the near future on Friday.

Ukraine is striving to hold the summit and expressed hope that U.S. President Donald Trump would participate, who is pressuring for an agreement to end the war between the two sides.

Putin indicated that he would only be ready for this summit in the “final stage” of negotiations.

Zelensky told journalists, including AFP correspondents: “We need to end the war, which probably begins with a meeting between leaders,” adding, “During talks with us, they started discussing this. That in itself is progress toward some kind of possible meeting.”

During the third round of negotiations in Istanbul on Wednesday, the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umarov, proposed holding the meeting by the end of August, which somewhat aligns with the 50-day deadline set by Trump for Putin to resolve the conflict or face severe sanctions.

However, the Russian side showed no optimism about an imminent meeting, citing major differences in positions and the need to prepare it “carefully.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “A high-level meeting can, and should, decisively end the settlement process… But is it possible to conclude such a complex process within 30 days? Clearly, that is unlikely.”