At least six people, including a woman and her two daughters, were killed in a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack across Ukraine, officials said Wednesday, as U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to end the war stalled and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for more military support.
Repeated waves of missiles and drones hit at least eight Ukrainian cities overnight. In a village in the Kyiv region, a strike set fire to a house where a mother and her 6-month-old and 12-year-old daughters were staying, regional head Mykola Kalashnyk said. Kyiv authorities reported at least 18 people injured.
The attacks, which continued into Wednesday morning, also targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, triggering rolling blackouts. Russia has been intensifying strikes on the country’s power grid ahead of the winter season.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to mediate a resolution to the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion over three years ago, have so far failed. Trump said his plan for a quick meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin was on hold to avoid a “waste of time,” citing Moscow’s rigid stance on settlement terms despite Ukraine’s offer of a ceasefire and direct talks.
Zelenskyy urged the EU, the U.S., and the G7 nations to increase pressure on Russia to return to the negotiating table. “Pressure can be applied only through sanctions, long-range missile capabilities, and coordinated diplomacy among our partners,” he said, adding that Trump’s consideration of supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine influenced Putin’s willingness to meet.
Zelenskyy is scheduled to visit Stockholm Wednesday to meet Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, marking the start of a week of intensive diplomacy. Additional international sanctions on Russia are expected to be discussed at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, followed by a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in London on Friday.
In Kyiv, residents described panic and destruction. “We heard a loud explosion, the glass shattered, and everything was engulfed in flames,” said Biriukova Olena, 58, a local resident. “It was terrifying for the children. I never thought this could happen in our neighborhood.”
The attacks caused damage in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Vinnytsia, and the wider regions of Kyiv, Cherkasy, and Sumy, Zelenskyy said. In the Dnipro district, two more people were found dead, and emergency services rescued 10 from a 16-story residential building after a fire sparked by drone debris.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that drone debris also damaged a medical facility and another residential building. In the Darnytskyi district, debris hit a 17-story building, igniting a fire on five floors; 15 people, including two children, were rescued.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s army general staff said Ukrainian forces struck a chemical plant in Russia’s Bryansk region Tuesday night using British-made Storm Shadow air-launched missiles. The plant produces gunpowder, explosives, missile fuel, and ammunition and is a key part of Russia’s military-industrial complex.
Source: AP