Russia hits Kyiv and surrounding region in massive overnight strike

Missile explosions struck Kyiv and left at least five people injured early on Saturday as Ukraine prepared for new talks next week with Russia and the United States.

Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine and the US are to meet on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, for talks aimed at ending the war. The new round of negotiations would be the fourth brokered by the Trump administration, following the most recent round in Geneva in February.

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Western governments backing the peace initiative are seeking a new formula to break the impasse while acknowledging that territorial and security questions remain unresolved.

The Russian missiles that hit the Ukrainian capital overnight damaged homes and commercial properties, closed traffic on a Kyiv bridge over the Dnipro River and triggered new power and water outages, national and city authorities said.

“As a result of the enemy’s night attack, energy facilities in the Kyiv and ... Zhytomyr regions were damaged,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. “The situation with the capital’s energy supply is extremely difficult, affecting the city’s heating and water supply systems.”

Meanwhile, in southern Ukraine, a recovery operation continued in the village of Komyshuvakha, devastated on Monday when multiple Russian guided bombs slammed into a former school and nearby shelter as residents waited for humanitarian aid.

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Dozens of people remain missing after 55 were killed – two of the bodies were recovered early Saturday – in the attack on the former school turned aid distribution center. 

The village of Komyshuvakha is located near the front line in the Zaporizhzhia region.