Russia struck Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions overnight Thursday, just hours after the Kremlin announced it had agreed in principle to resume U.S.-brokered talks to end the war. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said at least four people were killed in the attacks. President Volodymyr Zelensky said 34 were wounded, including five children. “Russia has not changed the way it conducts this war, and it is not taking steps that would indicate a genuine desire to end it,” Zelensky said.
1+According to Reuters, Ukraine reported at least 21 ballistic missiles fired at Kyiv in three waves. The Ukrainian president added that three of them carried cluster warheads, which explode in the air and scatter smaller munitions over an area 400 meters in diameter, and that 12 regions were attacked overnight. In response, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 630 drones were sent toward the Russian capital, most of which were shot down at a distance from the city. Two people were wounded in the area around the city. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed 808 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over Russia.
The attacks came after Russian President Vladimir Putin met yesterday in St. Petersburg with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff. Putin’s adviser Yuri Ushakov said the Russian president agreed “in principle” to resume trilateral talks between Russia, the U.S., and Ukraine after November 10—about a week after the U.S. midterm elections. According to him, the meeting will be held at the level of negotiating teams and may take place in Abu Dhabi.
1+Zelensky said yesterday that Ukraine supports the American proposal to hold the meeting as soon as possible, no later than early November. The Ukrainian president also stated that Kyiv’s team will support proposals for a comprehensive ceasefire, a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure, and humanitarian initiatives, including the return of prisoners of war.