Russia launched its largest wave of strikes in weeks overnight, firing hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Kyiv and the western city of Lviv.

The assault, which marked Russia’s third-largest drone attack on Ukraine this year, prompted Poland to mobilize its air defenses for several hours. Warsaw reported no violation of its airspace, though its border lies just 90 kilometers from Lviv.

Amid the escalation, diplomatic maneuvering also intensified. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday he is prepared to hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, though he questioned the Kremlin leader’s willingness to engage.

“I responded immediately to the proposal for a bilateral meeting: we are ready,” Zelenskyy said. “If the Russians are not ready, we would like to see a strong reaction from the United States.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has been pushing for a Zelenskyy-Putin summit, though the Kremlin has yet to confirm Putin’s participation. Speaking to Fox News earlier this week, Trump admitted the Russian leader might not “want to make a deal.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters Thursday that Putin was “ready” to meet, but stressed that such a meeting would require “all issues that require consideration at the highest level” to be settled in advance. He also raised questions about Zelenskyy’s legitimacy as Ukraine’s president, signaling Moscow’s continued effort to undermine Kyiv’s leadership.

Zelenskyy said any summit must be held in a neutral European country and insisted it cannot take place in Moscow. He also ruled out China as a guarantor of Ukraine’s security, accusing Beijing of siding with Moscow.

Kyiv is also pressing its allies for clearer commitments on long-term security. “We want to have an understanding of the security guarantees architecture within seven to 10 days,” Zelenskyy said. “We need to understand which country will be ready to do what at each specific moment.”

U.S. Vice President JD Vance echoed Washington’s position that Europe must shoulder the “lion’s share” of any security guarantees for Ukraine in a post-war settlement.

• with DW inputs