Russia launched a deadly overnight airstrike on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, killing at least two people and injuring six, just days after U.S. and Ukrainian officials held talks on a new peace framework in Geneva.
Residential buildings and energy infrastructure were targeted in the widespread attack early Tuesday. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that a high-rise in a central district and another in an eastern district of Kyiv suffered significant damage.
Emergency services rescued 18 people, including three children, from the affected areas.
Firefighters brought a blaze under control at a nine-story residential building in an eastern district after flames severely damaged its sixth and seventh floors. Seventeen individuals were rescued from this building.
Separately, a high-rise in a central district also caught fire across three floors following a strike before the blaze was extinguished.
Ukraine’s Energy Ministry confirmed that energy infrastructure was damaged during the attack, though specific details on the type or extent of the damage were not immediately available.
The assault followed discussions between U.S. and Ukrainian representatives in Geneva on Sunday. The talks aimed to advance a peace plan brokered by the United States.
Oleksandr Burvts, a Ukrainian representative, described the negotiations as “very constructive” to The Associated Press on Monday, stating that most issues were addressed.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia had not yet seen the details of any revised peace plan.
Prior efforts by U.S. and Ukrainian officials to bridge differences on an end-of-war plan led to an agreement to revise an earlier U.S. proposal. That initial proposal had been viewed by Ukraine and its European allies as merely a “list of Russian demands” from Russia.
A joint statement released after the Geneva talks indicated that the U.S. and Ukraine had collaboratively drafted a “revised peace framework.” While no specific details were disclosed, the discussions were cautiously welcomed by some of Ukraine’s allies.