Deadly Strikes Hit Kyiv Amid Stalled Peace Talks
KYIV – Powerful explosions lit up Kyiv on Thursday night as Moscow and Kyiv traded blame over a deadlock in diplomatic efforts toward a peace deal led by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
AFP journalists in the Ukrainian capital witnessed towering columns of smoke as missiles and drones struck residential areas. Ukraine’s Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said four people were killed and roughly 30 others injured. Among the dead was a 14-year-old girl, while five children, aged seven to 17, suffered injuries of varying severity, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city’s military administration.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko described the strikes as a “massive attack” that caused widespread damage across multiple districts. Tkachenko said Moscow launched ballistic and cruise missiles alongside Iranian-designed Shahed drones from several directions, seemingly targeting residential buildings in a “systematic” assault.
AFP reporters saw red tracer bullets streak across the night sky as Ukrainian forces attempted to intercept incoming drones, with at least one missile reportedly destroyed. Around 100 residents sought shelter in a subway station, some curled up in sleeping bags, others holding their pets.
The attack caused the collapse of a five-storey building in the Darnytsky district, and a shopping mall in the city center was also hit, Klitschko said.
Russian-Ukrainian Strikes Elsewhere
Elsewhere, Ukrainian officials reported a Russian strike in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region. Russian authorities claimed to have destroyed more than 100 Ukrainian drones overnight. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian attack sparked a fire at an oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region, but local officials said there were no casualties.
In recent months, Russian forces have gradually advanced in parts of Ukraine even as diplomatic efforts intensified. Trump held a high-profile summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska earlier this month, followed by talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders. Despite these meetings, progress toward a peace deal remains limited.
Ukraine has insisted on Western security guarantees before any agreement can be finalized, aiming to prevent future Russian attacks. Moscow has criticized these demands as unrealistic, particularly opposing the idea of stationing Western peacekeepers on Ukrainian soil.
Zelensky said on Wednesday that members of his administration would meet U.S. officials in New York on Friday. He warned of “very arrogant and negative signals from Moscow” in the negotiations and called for increased “pressure” to compel Russia to take meaningful steps toward peace.
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