Air raid sirens howled on Thursday night warning citizens of the Russian strike that is also believed to have injured dozens, according to Fox News. Ukraine has been subjected to many Russian strikes since 2022, though Kyiv, being the capital and a major city, has better air defense systems than most cities, meaning it’s not often a target for a strike.
At least 42 people were hospitalized, including six children, a Telegram post from the Kyiv City Military Administration said. It has been reported that 70 people total were injured in the strikes.
Rescue workers overnight went through piles of rubble of destroyed buildings and quelling fires that were caused by the strikes. On top of this, Russia launched a large-scale attack on Kharkiv, a city in Ukraine’s northeast region. The city’s mayor said at least seven missiles were shot at the city.
The strikes come just one day after US President Donald Trump said that he believes a peace deal will be struck between the parties involved.
“I think Russia is ready, a lot of people said that Russia wanted to go for the whole thing and I think we have a deal with Russia, we have to get a deal with Zelensky," Trump said in the Oval Office on Wednesday to media. "I hope that Zelensky, I thought it might be easier to deal with Zelensky, so far it’s been harder. But that’s okay, it’s alright. I think we have a deal with both, I hope they do it,” Trump continued.
It also comes following reports that a “final offer” of a US peace deal led to the deterioration of what were meant to be high-level peace talks with several foreign ministers and leaders from the US, UK, France, Germany, and Ukraine. The meetings were scaled down after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio travelled to Moscow instead of attending, along with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Keith Kellogg, a special Trump-appointed envoy, is leading the delegation in London instead.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and President Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak are taking part in the talks. However, progress toward a potential ceasefire has stalled following a US proposal introduced last week in Paris, which reportedly calls on Ukraine to accept Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
“There is nothing to talk about. This violates our Constitution. This is our territory – the territory of the people of Ukraine,” Zelensky said during a press briefing in Kyiv. “As soon as talks about Crimea and our sovereign territories begin, the talks enter the format that Russia wants – prolonging the war – because it will not be possible to agree on everything quickly,” Zelensky added.
