Three people were killed and dozens wounded, including seven children, in an overnight Russian drone attack on Kyiv.
More than 100 drones were launched on the Ukrainian capital during the overnight attack, which came just a day after a Russian missile strike killed two people and injured 12, also in Kyiv.
Pictures shared by Ukraine’s emergency services showed apartment blocks across the city with gutted, scorched facades.
More than 100 drones were launched on Kyiv during the overnight attack – Dan Bashakov/AP
Residential buildings were struck in the Desnianskyi and Obolonskyi districts, according to Vitali Klitschko, the Kyiv mayor.
“Every Russian strike is an attempt to inflict as much damage as possible on ordinary life,” Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, wrote on X.
“This week, they’ve been striking residential buildings, our people, children, and civilian infrastructure… In just one week, Russia has used nearly 1,200 attack drones, more than 1,360 guided aerial bombs, and over 50 missiles of different types against Ukraine.”
Residents of the capital received their first air alert instructing them to proceed to shelters just after midnight, with attacks continuing into the early hours of the morning.
Residential buildings were struck in the Desnianskyi and Obolonskyi districts – Valentyn Ogirenko/REUTERS
A video posted on social media purporting to show the aftermath of one drone strike showed several storeys of a residential building ablaze as a woman could be heard screaming “save us!” from within the inferno.
“Russia is a terrorist state and deserves full international isolation for its constant terror against Ukraine,” Andriy Sybiha, the Ukrainian foreign minister, wrote on X.
Moscow has stepped up its bombardment of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ahead of winter, hoping to demoralise a beleaguered population by cutting off domestic and industrial power supplies as the country experiences subzero temperatures.
The flurry of strikes by Russia also follows another week of frantic diplomacy by Kyiv and comes amid signs of a growing rift between Washington and Moscow.
Credit: State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv
On Saturday, Donald Trump described talks with Vladimir Putin as “very disappointing” and told reporters that he did not plan on “wasting his time” with a bilateral meeting unless he saw clear efforts towards peace.
Kremlin officials have attempted to downplay the abrupt cancellation of a second summit between Mr Trump and Putin in Budapest, describing it as “postponed”.
Putin also dismissed the sweeping sanctions that were imposed by the US president on energy giants Rosneft and Lukoil earlier this week, claiming the Russian economy would be immune to their shock.
However, there were signs that Putin was concerned about the effects of the sanctions as he deployed his top economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev to Miami to meet the president’s special envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Mr Zelensky embarked on a diplomatic blitz across Europe to discuss deepening economic support for Ukraine and increasing the provision of long-range missiles that could be used to strike deep inside Russia.
On Saturday, the Ukrainian president announced that he had finalised a deal for up to 150 Swedish Gripen fighter jets after a mid-week meeting with Swedish premier Ulf Kristersson.
Mr Zelensky also met with Sir Keir Starmer and Coalition of the Willing members on Friday in London, after which the UK prime minister called on allies to supply more long-range weapons and advance plans to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine, an initiative which was blocked by Belgium over legal concerns.
On Sunday, Putin announced the final test of a new nuclear-powered cruise missile with a range of up to 14,000 kilometres (8,700 miles) known as the Burevestnik.
In a video posted to the Kremlin’s Telegram channel, the Russian president, donning military garb, described the missile as a “unique product” and said “we need to identify potential uses and begin preparing the infrastructure for deploying this weapon in our armed forces.”
Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s top general, said that the missile had spent around 15 hours in the air and demonstrated “advanced capability to evade anti-missile and anti-aircraft defences.”
