Russia launches deadliest strikes on Kyiv since last summer after Trump criticizes Zelensky

Russia overnight launched its deadliest strikes on Kyiv since the summer of last year, with missile and drone attack killing at least nine people and wounding more than 70, including six children, according to Ukrainian officials.

The barrage was the deadliest attack on Kyiv since July last year, and came hours after President Trump criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, arguing he is damaging peace talks with the Kremlin. 

After the attack, Zelensky said he would cut his trip to South Africa short, but Ukraine Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha would remain in the country as a “sign of our respect and to carry out all the meetings that were scheduled.” 

Trump hammered Zelensky on Wednesday, contending Kyiv’s leader is an obstacle in peace talks with Russia, objecting to him saying Ukraine will never recognize the Kremlin’s occupation of the Crimean Peninsula.

Thursday morning, Trump denounced the shelling in Ukraine’s capital and urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to focus on ceasefire negotiations. 

“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying,” Trump wrote in a Thursday morning post on Truth Social. “Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!” 

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said people were trapped under the rubble and that several fires broke out in the city after the attack. 

The shelling in Kyiv and other parts of the country comes as both sides have been under pressure from Trump to come to an agreement that would end the war in Eastern Europe that has been raging for more than three years. 

Trump and other top U.S. officials have warned previously that if no substantial ceasefire progress is made, Washington will “move on” from its role as the negotiation facilitator. 

The meeting between the leading Western countries and Ukrainian officials in London achieved “significant progress” on getting on the same page on how to proceed next in the process. But the talks were downgraded after it was announced that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio would not attend. 

Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg represented the U.S. and later met with Ukraine’s delegation. 

The U.S. is looking to continue engaging with Russia.

Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet with Putin on Friday, a source familiar with the matter told The Hill on Wednesday evening.