Ukrainian rescuers work at the site after an aerial bomb strikes a residential area in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, July 15, 2026. (Photo: VCG)

US President Donald Trump said once again he believes Russia is ready to reach an agreement to end the conflict with Ukraine, according to media reports on Wednesday, while fighting continued across the front line with both sides reporting large-scale drone operations and Europe moved to further strengthen military support for Kiev.

In an interview with Fox News, as reported by European Pravda, Trump said he was convinced that Russian President Vladimir Putin "is ready to make a deal," expressing hope that the conflict could be resolved before the end of his presidential term.

"I tell him the same thing all the time. I don't want to go into great detail, but I say: 'Vladimir, it's time for you to stop,'" Trump said.

Despite renewed signals from Washington, military activity between Russia and Ukraine has shown few signs of easing, with both sides continuing strikes and intensifying operations along the battlefield.

Russia attacked Ukraine with two missiles and 122 attack drones overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday and Ukraine's air defenses reportedly shot down most of the incoming drones, although some strikes got through, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

Explosions were reported in Ukraine's capital Kiev early Thursday morning, as Ukraine's Air Force said that four ballistic missiles were heading toward Kiev and Vitali Klitschko, mayor of Kiev, said a warehouse was hit in the Sviatoshynskyi district.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin claimed that the chief engineer at ⁠the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power ⁠Plant has been killed by a Ukrainian drone near the station.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) condemned attacks near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility, warning that military activities around nuclear sites could pose serious risks to nuclear safety. The plant, Europe's largest nuclear power facility, has remained at the center of international concerns since it came under Russian control early in the conflict.

At the same time, European support for Ukraine continued to expand. Ukraine and the European Union (EU) agreed to strengthen defense cooperation on Wednesday, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and visiting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signing a letter of intent on a strategic defense-industrial partnership, according to the presidential press service.

Von der Leyen, who arrived in Ukraine earlier in the day to take part in the 5th Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit, noted during a meeting with Zelenskyy that the EU and Ukraine would further strengthen their defense cooperation, including in drone production.

While highlighting the EU's record-level financial, political and defense support for Ukraine, she announced the disbursement of 1 billion euros (about $1.15 billion) for Ukraine drone capabilities under an Ukraine Support Loan worth 90 billion euros.

The two also discussed in detail the work on opening four negotiation clusters in Ukraine's EU membership negotiations.

"This is our Ukrainian and European determination to go all the way to Ukraine's full accession to the EU," Zelenskyy said.