Russia and Ukraine traded major attacks overnight, authorities from both countries said on Thursday, shortly after US envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg.
Missiles struck Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday, wounding tens of residents, city authorities said.
In an update later in the morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had fired 21 missiles towards 12 regions in Ukraine. In Kyiv region, the strikes killed two people and injured 34 others, including five children.
The subway infrastructure on the Southern Bridge over the Dnipro river in Kyiv was also damaged, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.
“Overnight, Kyiv residents heard what Russian ‘humanism’ truly sounds like: a brutal attack with dozens of ballistic missiles striking energy infrastructure, medical facilities, shopping centers, and residential Areas,” Ukrainian foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on social media.
His post referred to Witkoff recently calling Putin a “humanitarian” for freeing US citizen Stephen Hubbard on Wednesday. Hubbard had been captured by Russian forces and jailed over charges of being a mercenary.
The Ukrainian foreign minister added: “Appeasement, servility, and flattery will not stop this war. Only strength will.”
Another Russian strike killed a woman and injured four others in the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine, regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram. A drone also hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure in the Poltava region, local authorities said without providing more details.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it downed 808 Ukrainian drones overnight, with many targeting Moscow.
At least two people were killed in the Ukrainian strikes on Russia.
In western Russia’s Lipetsk city, a man was injured as drones hit apartment buildings and a medical facility, Governor Igor Artamonov said on Telegram.
The latest round of strikes came after US special envoy Witkoff held talks with Zelensky in Norway earlier this week, followed by talks with Putin in Russia on Wednesday.
The Trump administration has attempted to mediate between the two sides to end the conflict that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Putin agreed “in principle” to resume US-mediated peace talks with Kyiv as soon as next month. Zelensky, too, said on Wednesday that Ukraine supported a US proposal for trilateral talks at the negotiators level to be held as soon as possible.
It was “the closest we’ve been” to ending the war, US President Donald Trump claimed after Witkoff’s meeting with Putin. However, that did not stop the neighboring nations from keeping up a barrage of attacks.
“Almost immediately after another round of talks, Russia launched a pointed attack. This means there has been no real change in its attitude toward everything that is happening,” Zelensky said in a post on social media on Thursday.
“It is important to keep trying to find the right solutions to end this war. But when Russia responds to negotiations with ballistic missiles, real pressure on Russia is needed to bring about different steps – steps toward ending the killing,” he said, once again advocating for stronger air defense capabilities and a faster supply of missiles from allies.
