In the early hours of Thursday, Kyiv faced rocket attacks, as reported by a witness to Reuters. Concurrently, Ukraine launched hundreds of drones towards Moscow during the night, with both sides engaging in renewed strikes despite ongoing US-led efforts to mediate peace.
The Russian assaults injured 15 individuals and damaged metro infrastructure on the Southern Bridge over the Dnieper River, affecting local traffic, according to Kyiv authorities. This wave of attacks followed another incident on Wednesday evening, which left six people injured.
Additionally, a Russian strike killed one woman and injured four others in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, as reported by regional governor Oleh Siniehubov on Telegram.
A drone attack also targeted energy infrastructure in the Kremenchuk area of Poltava region, according to a local official, though specifics were not disclosed. Kremenchuk, located along the Dnieper River, is an important industrial hub and home to one of Ukraine’s largest oil refineries. The area has frequently faced Russian strikes, including a devastating attack in 2022 on a busy shopping center that resulted in at least 21 deaths.
Hundreds of Ukrainian Drones Target Moscow
In Russia, near Moscow, two individuals were injured after 630 drones were sent toward the capital during the night, announced Mayor Sergey Sobyanin on Telegram. Most of the drones were intercepted from a significant distance, he added.
In Lipetsk, home to a major steel mill about 400 km south of Moscow, a man was injured in an attack on residential buildings and a medical facility by drones, according to Governor Igor Artamonov.
Central Tula region Governor Dmitry Miliaev reported on Thursday that the Russian Ministry of Defense’s air defense systems had destroyed 70 Ukrainian drones, with no casualties recorded, per TASS.
Since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, following the annexation of Crimea eight years earlier, Russia has been engaged in the bloodiest conflict on the European continent since World War II, according to Reuters.
Trump’s Envoy Back in Moscow
The latest attacks coincide with the visit of US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, who held discussions this week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed at mediating an end to the conflict.
In his ninth meeting with Putin, Witkoff expressed gratitude for the release of 73-year-old Stephen Hubbard, an American professor detained in Russia for allegedly fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine.
Witkoff stated, “You often speak of my president, President Trump, as a humanitarian. And you are a humanitarian, sir, and for that, I salute and thank you once again.”
Zelensky stated on Wednesday that Ukraine supports a US proposal for trilateral talks with Russia and the United States at the negotiator level as soon as possible, while the Kremlin announced that Putin had agreed to resume US-mediated peace discussions with Kyiv next month.
