Ukraine and Russia have escalated their shadow war of espionage, sabotage, and assassinations, with both countries claiming a growing list of captured agents, intercepted plots, and cross-border attacks.

President Trump has long boasted of his friendly relationship with Putin, and after taking office in January repeatedly said that Russia was more willing than Ukraine to reach a peace deal.

In addition to the back-to-back, mammoth overnight strikes, other Russian attacks killed at least 21 civilians across Ukraine on July 7-10. In eastern Donetsk oblast, or region, Russian artillery shelling and drone attacks resulted in 15 civilians deaths,