Powerful explosions boomed in the skies over the Ukrainian capital early on Saturday as Russia launched waves of missiles and attack drones. The hourslong attack came as President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine prepared to meet with President Trump on Sunday to discuss a plan to end the war.
The assault began around 1:30 a.m. local time, heralded by the blare of air-raid sirens as the local authorities warned residents of Kyiv to take cover.
“Explosions in the capital” the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, wrote on Telegram. “Air defense forces are operating. Stay in shelters!”
Soon after, an eerie blue-and-white light flickered in the sky over part of the city, suggesting that an energy facility may have been hit. Blasts and the thunder of air defenses firing echoed through the night and into the morning.
At least 11 people were wounded in the capital, Mr. Klitschko said. Thick plumes of gray smoke were spotted on the skyline, and the local authorities said several fires were burning in the city after strikes hit multiple locations, including a university dormitory and residential high-rises.
Nearly a third of the capital was without heat as a result of the strikes, Mr. Klitschko said, as temperatures hovered below freezing.
The sustained bombardment reflected a central challenge to the U.S.-led peace negotiations: Moscow has shown little indication that it is willing to end the war.
On Sunday, Mr. Trump is expected to meet with Mr. Zelensky in Florida to discuss the latest version of a 20-point draft peace plan. The proposal, developed with the United States, covers a wide range of issues, including security guarantees that Ukraine wants to prevent future Russian aggression.
But Mr. Trump told Politico on Friday that the Ukrainian leader “doesn’t have anything until I approve it.”
“So we’ll see what he’s got,” Mr. Trump said.
He later told The New York Post that he believed there was a “good shot” that Ukraine and Russia were ready to broker a peace deal.
“I think they want to do it now, and I think that Russia wants to do it,” he said. “But every time one wants to do it, the other doesn’t.”
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