The capital city of Kyiv came under massive attack from Russian missiles and drones on December 27, a day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump’s meeting to discuss a peace proposal aimed at ending the nearly-four-year war.
The Ukrainian city was hit by large-scale ballistic missile assault by Russia’s multiple Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, four Iskander ballistic missiles, and several Kalibr cruise missiles, said a Ukrainian daily, citing official sources.
The sound of explosions and sirens was heard in Kyiv as the country’s defence units went into action. Ukraine’s air force said Russian drones were targeting the capital and regions in the northeast and south, prompting its military to deploy missiles.
“Kyiv, take cover! There is an attack UAV in the air over the city,” the Air Force warned in one of its alerts.
According to the Air Force, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were detected over Kyiv itself, as well as in parts of the Kyiv region, including areas near Velyka Dymerka and west of the village of Pereyaslav, heading south. Additional UAV activities were also reported in the southern part of the Chernihiv region, moving toward Kyiv Oblast.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko also confirmed the attack in a post on Telegram, urging residents to remain in shelters. “Explosions in the capital. Air defence forces are working. Stay in shelters!” he wrote.
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In Brovary, a town about 20 kilometres northeast of Kyiv, the strikes caused power outages affecting the town and nearby areas.
While Russia has so far made no comment on the attacks, the latest fire comes after Thursday night’s strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and attacks on the southern region of Odesa, one of Ukraine’s main seaports.
Earlier, Zelenskyy had said his talks with Trump in Florida on Sunday would focus on resolving as many outstanding issues as possible, especially the territory to be controlled by each side after the war is halted.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Zelenskyy had said “a lot can be decided before the New Year”, although he cautioned that no final agreement should be expected immediately.
Zelenskyy also said the 20-point peace plan proposed by US and Ukrainian officials is 90 per cent ready and that talks with Trump would focus on long-term security guarantees for Ukraine and the role of its allies in ensuring stability after the war, as reported by the press.
However, Trump said any peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia would require the US’ approval since it was the driving force behind the deal.
“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump said. “So we'll see what he’s got,” he added.
Trump also said he expected to speak with Putin “soon, as much as I want”.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defence said that its forces have continued advancing on the frontlines in southern Ukraine while carrying out a series of large-scale strikes across Ukrainian territory in response to what it described as Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets inside Russia.
According to the ministry’s statement in Telegram, units of the Vostok Group of Forces advanced deeper into Ukrainian defensive positions and captured the settlement of Kosovtsevo in the Zaporizhzhia region.
“The Vostok Group’s units continued to advance to the depths of the enemy's defence and, as a result of decisive actions, liberated the settlement of Kosovtsevo in Zaporozhye region,” the statement read.
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