Russia Strikes Kyiv Hours After Agreeing to Resume Ukraine Talks

Russian forces fired ballistic missiles at Kyiv overnight, killing at least two people and wounding 22, including four children, hours after Vladimir Putin said he had agreed to resume trilateral negotiations with Ukraine, according to The Guardian.

What was hit in Kyiv?

Targets included the southern bridge over the Dnipro River, civilian houses, energy infrastructure, an ambulance station, office buildings and a clinic, the Guardian reported. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said three of the missiles carried cluster warheads. One struck the Pecherskyi district, damaging several historic structures, including a monastery.

Why did the strike follow talks so closely?

The attack came just hours after Putin told reporters he had agreed to resume trilateral negotiations following a meeting in St Petersburg with US envoy Steve Witkoff, per the Guardian. Zelenskyy called the timing deliberate. "This is another extraordinarily revealing strike – revealing, because it was no accident," he said, according to the outlet. "The choice of weapon was deliberate; the choice of target area was deliberate, and so was the intent to inflict as much loss and damage on civilians as possible."

What did Zelenskyy say about Russia's intentions?

Zelenskyy argued the strikes undercut any claim that Moscow is negotiating in good faith. "Almost immediately after another round of talks, Russia launched a pointed attack," he said, per the Guardian. "This means there has been no real change in its attitude toward everything that is happening." In a social media post, he referred sardonically to "Russian 'humanitarians'" launching "three waves of ballistic missiles" at Kyiv.

What did Witkoff tell Putin before the strike?

During Wednesday's talks in St Petersburg, Witkoff praised Putin directly, the Guardian reported. "You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that," Witkoff said, according to the outlet's account of the meeting.

What do experts say Russia is trying to accomplish?

The Guardian's reporting cites experts who say Russia is working to destroy Ukrainian energy infrastructure before winter and that US "appeasement and flattery" toward Moscow will not produce peace. The outlet did not name the experts quoted in that assessment beyond attributing it to its own reporting.

What to watch next

• Whether trilateral talks involving the US, Russia and Ukraine actually convene after Putin's stated agreement to resume them.
• Casualty updates from Kyiv city officials as search-and-rescue work continues at damaged sites.
• Additional Russian strikes on energy infrastructure as winter approaches, a pattern experts cited by the Guardian say is deliberate.
• Any shift in the Trump administration's negotiating posture toward Moscow following the strike.
• Ukrainian government statements on repairs to the Dnipro River bridge and other damaged civilian infrastructure.

The Guardian's full account, including photographs from the scene, is available in its original report.

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