Russia fired ballistic missiles carrying cluster warheads into central Kyiv overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday, hours after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff left St. Petersburg following talks with Vladimir Putin on resuming peace negotiations.
The bombardment killed two people and injured 34 others across the Kyiv region, including five children, according to Zelenskyy. Emergency crews worked through the morning at residential blocks, a commuter rail stop, shopping centers and religious sites damaged in several waves of strikes that Ukraine said involved 21 missiles and more than 200 drones nationwide.
What hit Pechersk
Zelenskyy said three of the missiles were designed to release submunitions in the air above densely built neighborhoods. One strike landed between the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra complex and the Holy Presentation Monastery in Pechersk, the capital's historic core, damaging homes, shops and cafés as well as monastery property, he said in a social media update.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported damage to subway infrastructure on the Southern Bridge across the Dnipro River, restricting traffic toward the city's left bank. Ukrainian officials also published images of shattered windows at the Epicentr retail complex in the Pochaina district and said energy and medical facilities were among the targets.
Ukraine's air force said it downed or suppressed 181 of the 210 drones launched in the assault, including jet-powered models, but strikes were recorded at dozens of locations and falling debris caused additional damage. Russia's defense ministry, meanwhile, said it intercepted hundreds of Ukrainian drones aimed at Moscow and claimed overnight strikes on port infrastructure in Odesa.
Timing after diplomacy
The scale of the Kyiv attack drew immediate attention to its timing. Witkoff met Putin on Wednesday as part of Washington's push to restart direct talks; Russian officials afterward said they were willing to resume U.S.-mediated negotiations with Ukraine as early as next month.
Zelenskyy said the missile salvo showed Moscow had not changed its approach despite the diplomatic outreach. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russia of striking energy infrastructure, medical sites and residential areas while portraying itself as open to dialogue.
The overnight exchange extended a pattern of long-range strikes both capitals have escalated this year as front-line fighting has largely stalled. Ukrainian forces also launched a large drone barrage toward Moscow; Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said most were destroyed at distance but that two people were wounded in the capital region.
Casualties beyond Kyiv
Regional officials reported additional deaths and injuries outside the capital. Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said a woman was killed and four people wounded when a drone struck the northeastern region, and Zelenskyy said a commuter train was hit in the city. Power infrastructure in Poltava and other oblasts also reported damage.
Western governments have not yet issued detailed statements on the cluster-munition claims Thursday, but humanitarian groups have repeatedly warned that air-burst submunitions raise civilian risk in urban areas. Ukraine has previously accused Russia of using cluster weapons in earlier Kyiv barrages; Thursday's statements added Pechersk religious landmarks to the list of sites officials said were affected.
Rescue operations continued as officials assessed whether further missile waves would follow. Zelenskyy urged allies to accelerate air-defense supplies, repeating appeals made after earlier strikes on the power grid and urban centers.