Hours After Agreeing to Resume Talks, Russia Bombards Kyiv with Missiles, Killing Two

Just hours after agreeing to resume talks, Russia launched a massive missile attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. At least two people were killed and 22 wounded, including four children, in the overnight bombardment.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that numerous sites across the city had been hit and damaged. Targets included the southern bridge over the Dnipro River, civilian houses, energy infrastructure, an ambulance station, office buildings and a monastery.

Kyiv was not the only target: twelve regions across the country were bombed, and in the southern city of Odesa the port was badly hit, according to the report.

In Zelenskyy's words, the latest devastating strikes show that Russia is not serious about peace. 'Almost immediately after another round of talks, Russia launched a pointed attack. This means there has been no real change in its attitude toward everything that is happening,' he said.

A day earlier, at talks in St Petersburg, US envoy Steve Witkoff had lavished praise on Vladimir Putin, who sat across the table from him. 'You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that,' Witkoff said.

After the strikes in the early hours of Thursday, Zelenskyy gave a sardonic reply on social media. 'Three waves of ballistic missiles have been launched at Kyiv by Russian “humanitarians” since yesterday evening. They used 21 missiles,' he wrote.

Ukraine's foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, added that 'appeasement, servility and flattery' would not stop Russian aggression. Officials in Kyiv believe Russia's real intention is to destroy Ukraine's energy infrastructure, leaving millions in the dark and cold before winter.

Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said on Wednesday that Putin had agreed 'in principle' to resume three-way negotiations involving Russia, the US and Ukraine after 10 November, a week after the US midterm elections.

Zelenskyy said he was grateful to those among Ukraine's western partners who see 'the situation for what it is' and acknowledge the reality that the Kremlin has little intention of stopping its war. He called for stronger air defences, Patriot interceptors capable of bringing down enemy missiles, and more sanctions against Moscow.

According to the report, the US has resumed intelligence warnings of Russian missile attacks. But the White House has so far not reversed the slowdown of Starshield, the military version of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet system, leaving Ukraine unable to intercept enemy drones or carry out mid-range battlefield strikes.

Experts say Russia is trying to destroy energy infrastructure before winter, and that the attack shows US 'appeasement and flattery' will not achieve peace. The gap between assurances at the negotiating table and the reality on the battlefield has become the biggest question of the Ukraine war.

All eyes are now on the trilateral talks proposed for after 10 November — whether they actually take place, and which way the intensity of attacks moves until then, will decide Ukraine's fate this winter.