Russia attacked Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities on Friday with the largest number of drones and missiles launched in a single barrage so far in the war, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, just hours after a phone call between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

The assault left Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, wrapped in smoke from fires early on Friday, though the authorities reported little damage and it was not immediately clear what had burned. Officials said residential buildings had been damaged in five neighbourhoods.

Russia has been ramping up drone attacks in recent months with record numbers launched almost weekly. As they did on Friday, the attacks typically combine exploding drones, cruise and ballistic missiles, and decoys intended to confuse or overwhelm Ukraine’s air defences.

Trump and Putin spoke by phone shortly before the air-raid alerts went off in Kyiv.

After the call, Trump told reporters, “I didn’t make any progress with him at all.” There was no clear link between the timing of the air assault and the call, which was at least the sixth between Trump and Putin this year.

After the strikes on Friday, Trump spoke with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, according to a post by Zelensky on social media. The two discussed Russian airstrikes and the battlefields in eastern Ukraine, Zelensky said in a statement on Telegram. “We discussed opportunities regarding air defense and agreed to work on strengthening the protection of our skies,” Zelensky said.

Friday’s attack was the first large-scale volley from Russia since the Trump administration said this week that it would withhold some of the air defense missiles and other weapons that the US had promised to the Ukrainian military.

Those supplies had been expected in the coming weeks or months.

Ukraine relies on US-made Patriot missiles as its only defence against some types of Russian ballistic missiles, although it has an array of other European-provided and domestically produced defences against cruise missiles and drones. In his statement about his call with Trump, Zelensky said they had agreed that lower-level officials would meet to consider bolstering air defences. They also discussed joint ventures in defence industries, Zelensky said.

Ukraine’s air force said on Friday that Russia had launched one fast-flying ballistic missile called a Kinzhal, or Dagger.

Ukraine can intercept Daggers only with the US-made Patriots. Russia launched six other ballistic missiles and four cruise missiles, according to the air force, which said it had shot down two cruise missiles.

In total, Russia fired 539 drones and 11 missiles overnight. It was the largest number of drones and the largest overall aerial attack of the war.

New York Times News Service