Hours After Agreeing to Restart Trilateral Talks, Russia Hits Kyiv With Ballistic Missiles, Killing 2
Russia has launched a major attack on Ukraine within hours of President Vladimir Putin telling US envoy Steve Witkoff that he had agreed to restart trilateral talks. The attack, carried out with ballistic missiles on Kyiv, came to light on Thursday.
Moscow launched the intense attack on the Ukrainian capital under cover of darkness at night. At least two people were killed and 22 injured, including four children.
The targets included the southern bridge over the Dnipro River, ordinary people's homes, energy infrastructure, an ambulance station, office buildings and a monastery. That wide list of civilian sites illustrates the severity of the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that attacks had taken place at various locations in the city and many structures had been damaged. Twelve regions of the country, including the city of Odesa, were bombed; Odesa's port area was severely damaged.
Zelensky also said the recent destructive attacks prove that Russia is not sincere about peace. In his words, Russia carried out the attack in a planned manner immediately after another round of talks ended, meaning there has been no real change in the Kremlin's outlook on the war.
He said: 'Immediately after another round of talks ended, Russia carried out this attack in a planned manner. This means there has been no real change in Russia's attitude to what is happening.'
The day before, on Wednesday, during talks in St Petersburg, Witkoff lavishly praised Vladimir Putin, who was sitting across the table from him. He said: 'You often refer to my President Trump as a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian yourself, sir; I salute you.'
After the attack in the early hours of Thursday, Zelensky gave a sarcastic reply on X, pointing to that remark. He wrote that since the previous evening, three waves of ballistic missiles had been launched at Kyiv by the Russian 'humanitarian', and that they had used 21 missiles.
Zelensky said he was grateful to those among Ukraine's Western partners who had seen the situation and 'acknowledged the reality' that the Kremlin had very little intention of stopping the war.
The attack came at a moment when agreement to restart trilateral talks had created fresh hope in the diplomacy to end the war. A missile attack within hours of that agreement has raised a large question over that very hope.
The damage to Kyiv's bridge and energy infrastructure and to the port city of Odesa has brought the daily reality of the war to the fore again — whatever is said at the negotiating table, Ukraine's leadership is making clear that the situation on the ground has not changed.
What remains to be seen now is whether the process of restarting trilateral talks proceeds even after this attack, and what steps the United States and other Western partners take to increase pressure on the Kremlin.
