Russian missiles pound Kyiv a day after US talks

Russia bombarded Kyiv with ballistic missiles in an hours-long nighttime barrage, while the Russian military yesterday said its air defenses intercepted more than 800 drones fired by Ukraine at Moscow and other cities.

At least four people were killed in Ukraine and dozens of others were wounded, officials said, in the large-scale attacks that began only hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday agreed “in principle” to resume three-way negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the US.

Putin’s consent came in talks in St Petersburg with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who had spoken of a “new momentum” toward peace after a meeting on Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Norway.

Ukrainian police officers stand next to a crater at the site of a missile strike in Kyiv yesterday, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Photo: AFP

No date was set for the tripartite talks.

Russia and Ukraine remain far apart in their terms for stopping the fighting despite US efforts.

Zelenskiy said that only a meeting of leaders can end the deadlock.

As for the prospect of more “technical talks” between the delegations: “We’ll see what happens this time,” he said.

Russia’s aerial attacks hit 12 regions of Ukraine overnight, killing at least four people and wounding scores of others, including five children, Zelenskiy said on social media.

Two women aged 50 and 60 were killed and dozens of others wounded in a Russian strike on a market in Lozova, in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Another person was killed in other strikes on Kharkiv, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service said.

Kyiv endured a noisy night as 21 ballistic missiles came in three waves, Zelenskiy said, smashing apartment buildings, energy facilities, a railway station and the Kyiv subway system, shopping malls and businesses.

One person was killed in the capital.

A Russian ballistic missile carrying cluster munitions — bombs that open in the air and release scores of smaller bomblets — targeted downtown Kyiv, presidential adviser Serhii Beskrestnov said.

Ukrainians are bracing for the bitterly cold months ahead as the recent escalation in Russian attacks targets the power grid to deny civilians heat, light and running water.

Ukraine says Russia is stockpiling ballistic missiles for an annual campaign Ukrainians describe as “ weaponizing winter.”

The Russian bombardment showed “there has been no real change in [Moscow’s] attitude toward everything that is happening,” Zelenskiy said.