KYIV, Ukraine — A wave of Russian missiles and drones slammed into Kyiv and regions across Ukraine on Saturday, wounding at least nine people and damaging key power infrastructure just days before high-stakes diplomatic talks with the United States and Russia are set to begin.
Delegations from Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. plan to gather Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, for a fourth round of negotiations brokered by the Trump administration aimed at ending the war. The preceding round occurred in Geneva in February. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of intentionally ramping up attacks to exert leverage ahead of the diplomatic gathering, writing on social media that Russia views diplomacy as a form of aggression.
Air defenses strained under barrage
Zelenskyy said Russian forces launched 36 ballistic missiles and 172 drones targeting 13 Ukrainian regions overnight. Ukrainian defenses brought down only four missiles, which the president attributed to an acute shortage of Patriot interceptor ammunition. He also noted that initial site assessments indicated Russia deployed North Korean-manufactured ballistic missiles against energy targets, CBS News reported.
In Kyiv, falling debris and blasts battered residential properties, commercial sites and a kindergarten, leaving parts of the city without electricity and running water. The strikes forced authorities to close the 892-yard Northern Bridge across the Dnipro River. Russia’s Ministry of Defense confirmed striking the crossing, claiming it served as a pipeline for military hardware and equipment destined for Ukrainian troops. The ministry also said it hit electrical substations, an ammunition facility and a plant producing Flamingo missiles.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said emergency crews stabilized the capital’s water pressure and began bridge repairs, though he described the overall power crisis as extremely difficult. Outages were reported across several areas, including the Zhytomyr, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions, according to Ukraine’s Energy Ministry.
Diplomatic push follows temporary truce
The aerial assault unfolded following diplomatic activity in Washington on Thursday, where U.S. First Lady Melania Trump hosted Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the White House, the BBC reported. She urged an enduring ceasefire after previously helping negotiate a temporary local truce that permitted civilian evacuations from the occupied southern town of Oleshky. President Donald Trump also held discussions at the White House with Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, later remarking that a peace agreement could be close.
At the same time, emergency crews in the southern Zaporizhzhia region continued digging through the wreckage of an aid center in the village of Komyshuvakha. Ukrainian emergency services reported that discovering nine more bodies brought the confirmed death toll to 55 from Monday’s guided-bomb attack on people gathered for humanitarian supplies.
Cross-border drone strikes
Cross-border violence also touched Russian territory on Saturday. Local Russian authorities stated that a Ukrainian drone hit a home in the Belgorod border town of Grayvoron, killing one person. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed it intercepted 411 Ukrainian drones overnight across 10 regions, Crimea, and neighboring seas.
Regional governors in Russia reported further property damage, while Russian news outlets noted fires broke out at the Saratov Oil Refinery and a military components plant in the Oryol region following drone strikes.
With negotiators heading to Abu Dhabi, Zelenskyy called on the U.S. Congress to deliver bipartisan security assistance and tighten economic penalties against Moscow. Western governments continue searching for a compromise to break the diplomatic stalemate, though key questions regarding territory and long-term security guarantees remain unsettled.
