Two fatalities have been recorded in Ukraine following a series of hundreds of Russian drone and missile strikes on the capital, Kyiv.
Authorities reported that 13 individuals sustained injuries when residential and commercial properties were hit.
The assaults occurred as the United States resumed its delivery of military equipment to Ukraine.
“Residential buildings, vehicles, warehouses, offices, and non-residential structures are ablaze,” stated Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, on social media.
After US President Donald Trump promised earlier this week to provide additional defensive weaponry to Kyiv, Washington began supplying artillery shells and mobile rocket artillery systems, according to two US officials.
Watch: Kyiv impacted by Russian drones during the night
Witnesses reported explosions throughout Kyiv following the most recent Russian offensive, while videos captured the destruction of buildings and charred vehicles.
Officials indicated that damage was reported in six out of the ten districts of the Ukrainian capital.
The Shevchenkivskyi district faced extensive damage to residential properties, according to the district’s head via Telegram.
Thick smoke billowed over parts of Kyiv. Air raid alerts persisted for over four hours, per Ukraine’s air force.
Closer to the conflict zone, three individuals were killed and one injured due to a Russian airstrike in the town of Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine, according to emergency services.
Ukrainian air defenses engage against Russian drones over Kyiv
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had a “substantive” meeting yesterday with US Special Envoy Keith Kellogg in Italy, prior to a Ukrainian recovery conference, which Kyiv characterized as a “meaningful” discussion.
Mr. Trump has expressed mounting frustration with President Vladimir Putin, stating that the Russian leader is generating a lot of “nonsense” regarding American efforts to conclude the war that escalated after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The US leader labeled Mr. Putin’s remarks about progressing towards peace as “meaningless.”
A building damaged by a Russian strike on Kyiv
Moscow replied that it would persist in its attempts to mend a “broken” US-Russia relationship.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to engage in discussions with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers’ meeting in Malaysia, as confirmed by the State Department in Washington and Russia’s foreign ministry.
The meeting, taking place in the capital Kuala Lumpur, marks the second face-to-face interaction between the two men.
The first occurred in Saudi Arabia in February as part of the Trump administration’s initiative to restore bilateral relations and contribute to negotiating an end to the conflict.
President Trump has mentioned that he is contemplating supporting legislation that would impose hefty sanctions on Russia, including 500% tariffs on countries purchasing oil, gas, uranium, and other goods from Moscow.
