KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia pounded Kyiv with an hourslong barrage of missiles and drones Thursday, killing at least 12 people in its deadliest assault on the Ukrainian capital since July and drawing a rare rebuke of Moscow from U.S. President Donald Trump just as peace efforts were coming to a head.
The attack kept residents on edge for about 11 hours, with many staying awake all night while loud explosions reverberated around the city and flashes of light punctuated the sky. Families gathered in public air-raid shelters, some of them bringing cats and dogs. The strikes that began around 1 a.m. hit at least five neighborhoods and heavily damaged multiple residential buildings. Around 90 people were wounded.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would cut short his official trip to South Africa and return home as the city reeled. The bombardment appeared to be Russia’s biggest attack on Kyiv in nine months, and Zelenskyy called it one of Russia’s ”most outrageous.”
Trump, who has long been reluctant to criticize the Kremlin, said he was “not happy” with the assault. He implored Russian President Vladimir Putin, to cease the devastating strikes.
“Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform, adding “Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!”
Senior U.S. officials have warned that the Trump administration could soon give up its efforts to stop the war if the two sides do not come to agreement to halt the fighting.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia fired 66 ballistic and cruise missiles, four plane-launched air-to-surface missiles and 145 Shahed and decoy drones at Kyiv and four other regions of Ukraine. Rescue workers with flashlights searched the charred rubble of partly collapsed homes as the blue lights of emergency vehicles lit up the dark city streets.
The attack came as weeks of peace negotiations appeared to be culminating without an agreement in sight and hours after Trump lashed out at Zelenskyy. Trump accused him of prolonging the “killing field” by refusing to surrender the Russia-occupied Crimea Peninsula as part of a possible deal.
Zelenskyy says future of negotiations depends on Moscow
Zelenskyy has repeated many times during the war, now in its fouth year, that recognizing occupied territory as Russian is a red line for his country. He noted Thursday that Ukraine agreed to a U.S. ceasefire proposal 44 days ago, as a first step to a negotiated peace, but that Russian attacks continued.
He said in South Africa that the latest attack meant the future of negotiations “depends on Russia’s intention because it is in Moscow where they have to make a decision.”
During recent talks, Russia hit the city of Sumy, killing more than 30 civilians gathered to celebrate Palm Sunday, battered Odesa with drones and blasted Zaporizhzhia with powerful glide bombs.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said the latest attack underscored that the main obstacle to ending the war is Russia.
“While claiming to seek peace, Russia launched a deadly airstrike on Kyiv,” she wrote on social media. “This isn’t a pursuit of peace, it’s a mockery of it.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said Putin should “stop lying” when he claims to want peace while continuing to bomb Ukraine.
“There is only one answer we are waiting for: Does President Putin agree to an unconditional ceasefire?” Macron said during a visit to Madagascar. He added that American “anger should focus on just one person: President Putin.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the attack showed that Putin is determined to press his bigger army’s advantage on the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where it currently holds the momentum.
