 "Smoke marks on the facade of a residential building damaged during a Russian drone and missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv. (REUTERS)")
Russia launched fresh missile and drone strikes across Ukraine overnight, killing six people — among them two children, and triggering widespread power outages, officials said on Wednesday. The attacks came just as plans for a summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin were suspended after Moscow dismissed calls for an immediate ceasefire.
Debris from downed weapons scattered across Kyiv, sparking fires in half of the city’s districts, according to Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration. “Ukraine long ago agreed to the US proposal for a ceasefire, while Moscow is doing everything to keep the killing going,” said President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, on Telegram. He added that “collective actions against Putin are currently insufficient” and urged stronger international measures.
A senior US official told Reuters there were currently no plans for the postponed Trump-Putin meeting.
Kyiv ablaze, power cut across the nation
Two people were killed in the Kyiv attack, while four others — including two children — died in surrounding areas, Ukraine’s emergency service reported. Ten people were rescued from a fire in a high-rise building in Kyiv’s Dniprovskyi district, with five, including a child, taken to hospital. Fires also erupted in the Desnianskyi, Darnytskyi and Pecherskyi districts, the latter home to the historic Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery.
Officials said the attacks, which lasted through the night and into Wednesday morning, began with ballistic missiles followed by drone strikes. There was no immediate response from Moscow.
Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk said Russia had again targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, causing emergency power outages across most regions, including the capital. In Poltava’s Myrhorod district, oil and gas facilities were damaged, while in Zaporizhzhia, 13 people were injured in overnight shelling, according to regional governor Ivan Fedorov.
Russia has repeatedly struck Ukraine’s energy network since its full-scale invasion in 2022, claiming such facilities are legitimate military targets. On Tuesday, another wave of attacks killed four people and left hundreds of thousands without power or water as Moscow sought to cripple Ukraine’s energy system ahead of winter.
(With agency inputs)