Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine killed at least seven people, including two children, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for increased pressure on the Kremlin with the chances of a summit in the immediate future between US President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin dimming.
Amid the stalled peace efforts, Zelenskyy called the October 22 attack "vile" and said it struck energy and civilian infrastructure in at least 10 Ukrainian regions, including the capital, Kyiv.
"Another night proving that Russia does not feel enough pressure for dragging out the war.... Russian words about diplomacy mean nothing as long as the Russian leadership does not feel critical problems," he said in his X post.
Zelenskyy, who visited Norway and Sweden on October 22 to discuss defense cooperation, once again claimed that Ukraine's long-range capabilities could change the course of the 44-month-old war.
Welcoming Zelenskyy in the Swedish city of Linkopin, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said his country intended to export up to 150 of its domestically produced Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine.
"From today we are committed to exploring all the possibilities in providing Ukraine with a large amount of Gripen fighters in the future," Kristersson said, while warning of a "long road ahead."
Previously, Ukraine signaled that the US administration's decision not to green-light deliveries of Tomahawk missiles for the war-torn country had weakened its diplomatic leverage.
A senior White House official, speaking days after Trump had indicated that a summit in Budapest was being arranged with his Russian counterpart, said on October 21 there are no plans to meet in the "immediate future."
Trump said the possibility of a "wasted meeting" had led him to put plans for a summit with Putin on hold, though Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on October 22 that preparations for a possible meeting continue.
"Preparations for the peace summit are continuing. The date is still uncertain. When the time comes, we will hold it," Orban said.