Russia launched a large ballistic missile attack on Kyiv overnight, only hours after President Vladimir Putin said he had agreed in principle to resume three-way peace negotiations involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine, The Guardian and the Associated Press reported.
Ukrainian officials said at least two people were killed and more than 20 wounded, including children, as 21 ballistic missiles struck the capital in three waves from Wednesday evening into Thursday. Among the sites hit were the southern bridge over the Dnipro River, civilian houses, energy infrastructure, an ambulance station, office buildings and a monastery. Twelve regions across the country were bombed, including the port city of Odesa, officials said.
The timing was stark. The bombardment followed a three-hour meeting on Wednesday in St. Petersburg between Putin and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff — held a day after Witkoff met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo — at which the Kremlin said Putin had agreed to resume trilateral talks after November 10. No such talks have taken place since February.
Zelenskyy said the strikes showed Russia had not shifted its posture. "Almost immediately after another round of talks, Russia launched a pointed attack," he said. "This means there has been no real change in its attitude toward everything that is happening." Ukraine responded overnight by sending drones toward Moscow, underscoring how diplomacy and escalation are running in parallel.
The pattern is familiar to analysts: with winter approaching, Moscow has repeatedly targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure, and officials in Kyiv argue that only sustained pressure — not concessions — will change the Kremlin's calculus. The American side has proposed holding the trilateral meeting as early as November, and Zelenskyy said Kyiv would support any proposals for a ceasefire, including an energy ceasefire. Whether the St. Petersburg agreement survives the next round of strikes will be the first real test of the renewed diplomatic push.