Kiev has come under heavy Russian bombardment overnight, killing four people, including two children, Ukrainian officials announced Thursday morning.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the drone and missile attack on the Ukrainian capital was "massive", while the military confirmed that at least 24 people were injured. A five-story building collapsed in the Darnytski district and a fire broke out in a building in the Dnipro area.
The new waves of rockets followed the power outage for over 100,000 Ukrainian homes from recent drone attacks on energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a day earlier.
The head of Kiev's military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said on Telegram that one of the children killed was a 14-year-old girl. He added that at least five children were injured in the latest air strikes. More than 20 districts of the city were hit, including a kindergarten that caught fire.
Three and a half years after the full Russian occupation, the fighting on the ground shows no signs of stopping.
The latest international push for a ceasefire in Ukraine was launched this month by US President Donald Trump. He met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and with Zelensky along with European leaders in Washington. Trump is pushing for a summit between Putin and Zelensky. The Ukrainian president has said he is willing but wants security guarantees from Western allies to avoid a future Russian attack after a peace deal.
On Tuesday, Zelensky hosted the head of the British armed forces, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, in Kiev, where they discussed efforts to end the war. Meanwhile, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said he would meet with Ukrainian representatives in New York this week, stressing to Fox News that "we talk to the Russians every day."
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned that handing over Ukrainian territories to Russia as part of a peace deal would be a "trap".
