Trump evokes Russia sanctions after largest assault on Ukraine

US President Donald Trump said Russia just wanted to "keep killing people" and hinted at sanctions after Moscow launched its largest ever drone and missile attack on Ukraine in the three-year-old war.

Trump said Friday he was "very unhappy" about his telephone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, saying: "He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people, it's no good".

The US president said he and Putin talked about sanctions "a lot", adding: "He understands that it may be coming".

Hours-long Russian bombardments sent Ukrainians scurrying for shelters across the country and came after the call between Trump and Putin, which ended without a breakthrough.

Drones were buzzing over Kyiv and explosions ringing out throughout the night as Ukrainian air defence systems fended off the attack.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky also spoke to Trump Friday and said they agreed to work on bolstering Kyiv's defences.

"We spoke about opportunities in air defence and agreed that we will work together to strengthen protection of our skies," Zelensky said on social media after the call.

The Kremlin said Friday it was "preferable" to achieve the goals of its war through political and diplomatic means.

"But as long as that is not possible, we are continuing the special operation," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

At least three people were wounded in Russian drone and artillery strikes on several parts of Eastern Ukraine overnight Friday to Saturday, regional governor Sergiy Lysak said on Telegram.

Zelensky said Friday air alerts began echoing out across the country as the Trump-Putin call was getting under way.

He urged the United States in particular to increase pressure on Moscow, which on Friday announced fresh territorial gains on the front line with the capture of a village in the Donetsk region.

Poland said its embassy building in Kyiv had been damaged in the attack but that staff were unharmed.

In Kyiv, one person was pulled from the rubble after the strikes, which also wounded at least 26 people, emergency services said.

The barrage, according to the air force, comprised 539 drones and 11 missiles.

A representative of Ukraine's air force told Ukrainian media that the attack was the largest since the war started.

Escalating overnight attacks

Overnight Russian attacks have escalated over recent weeks.

An AFP tally found Moscow launched a record number of drones and missiles at Ukraine in June, when direct peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow appeared to stall.

In Kyiv, concerns mounted over whether the US would continue delivering military aid, which is key to Ukraine's ability to fend off the drone and missile barrages.

The US announced this week it was reducing some of its aid deliveries.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this was a clear signal that the 27-nation European Union needed to "step up".

Ukraine has also ramped up its retaliatory strikes in Russia, where a woman was killed by a Ukrainian drone attack overnight, the acting governor of the Rostov region said.

Talks, spearheaded by the United States to secure a ceasefire, have stalled.

Delegations from the two sides last met more than a month ago, when they agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each.

Russia announced a fresh swap of prisoners of war with Ukraine on Friday as part of that agreement.