Ukraine says Russia launched “massive and unrelenting” airstrikes in Kyiv, killing at least 12

All residential buildings were destroyed in the Ukrainian capital as Russia launched a “massive and nonstop” airstrike on Kyiv and other major cities two nights ago, according to Ukrainian officials. They said more than 1,500 drones and more than 50 missiles were launched in the past two days.

At least 12 people were killed in Kyiv, most of them in a strike that collapsed apartments overnight, including a 15-year-old girl, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Another 57 people were injured, including 27 of them who are still in the hospital, the mayor told Telegram.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he met with his senior staff on Thursday about “a major Russian attack that lasted about 48 hours.”

“This is a deliberate terrorist tactic of Russia, which accumulates drones and missiles for a long time and deliberately calculates the strike so that its size is large, which creates great difficulties for our air defense,” Zelenskyy wrote in X.

He said 20 places were attacked in the capital in total, including residential buildings, a school and a veterinary clinic.

Zelenskyy said that 94% of the drones were intercepted, but only 73% of the missiles were fired, and he pointed out the need to improve that.

Other cities that have been burning for the past two days include Odesa, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk and Kharkiv.

Zelenskyy accused Russia of stockpiling weapons to coincide with the attack President Trump’s visit to China.

“It certainly can’t be called a coincidence that Russia’s longest-running attack against Ukraine happened when the President of the United States came to visit China – a highly anticipated visit,” he said.

The president of Ukraine added, “In this difficult geopolitical moment, Russia is clearly trying to disrupt the general political situation and draw attention to its evil – it wants to do so at the expense of Ukrainian lives and Ukrainian infrastructure.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday answered questions from reporters following a Victory Day rally, and made headlines for his comments. war may be imminent after more than four years.

“I think this issue is coming to an end, but it is still a serious issue,” he told reporters in words translated from Russian.

Mr. Trump was asked about Putin’s comments during his trip to China on Tuesday, and he gave a positive answer.

“The end of the war in Ukraine, I think is near,” he told reporters on the White House’s South Lawn.

Zelenskyy said that Putin’s actions do not indicate that he believes the end of the war is coming.

“Russia itself chose to end the small peace that lasted for a few days,” Zelenskyy wrote on Tuesday, speaking of pause in the fight on Victory Day, the celebration of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. “Russia must end this war, and it is Russia that must take a step toward a real, lasting peace.”

As part of the conference in Bucharest, Zelenskyy met with the leaders of several European countries on Wednesday – including the President of Finland Alexander Stubb, the President of Romania Nicusor Dan, the President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs, the President of Poland Karol Nawrocki and the President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda – about the measures to end the war.