The White House drew comparisons between recent deadly Russian strikes on Kyiv and Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure during a briefing in Washington on August 28. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt spoke following Moscow’s overnight missile and drone assault on the Ukrainian capital, which struck residential areas and resulted in at least 23 deaths, including four children, and 63 injuries, 11 of them children.

Leavitt noted that U.S. President Donald Trump “was not happy about this news, but he was also not surprised,” emphasizing the ongoing difficulty in achieving a resolution. She suggested that both sides of the conflict may lack the willingness to end the war themselves. Highlighting Ukraine’s recent operations, she stated that Ukrainian forces had struck Russian oil refineries, destroying roughly 20% of the nation’s refining capacity in August.

“The president wants it to end, but the leaders of these two countries need it to end and must want it to end as well,” Leavitt added, reflecting Trump’s consistent calls to halt the conflict to prevent further casualties on both sides. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Kyiv has targeted refineries, oil depots, and military-industrial sites to disrupt Moscow’s war operations, while Russia’s recent strikes hit civilian infrastructure in the capital, resulting in numerous casualties.

European leaders largely condemned Moscow’s latest attacks, though Trump did not comment directly on the assault. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who met with Trump in Alaska earlier in the month, has shown no indications of slowing his military actions and left the summit without facing new sanctions.

Following the attack, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz indicated on August 28 that a proposed bilateral summit between Zelensky and Putin would not take place, describing the development as “different from what was agreed between President Trump and President Putin last week in Washington.” The latest strikes underscore the continuing challenges in negotiating peace and the high civilian toll in Ukraine’s ongoing conflict.