Zelensky: Deadly Russian strikes after Witkoff visit show no change in Moscow's stance on the war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Russian ballistic missile attacks launched right after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin show Moscow's attitude to the war has not changed. Four people were killed in Kyiv and Lozova.
Ukraine on Thursday accused Russia of keeping its position on the war unchanged, pointing to a wave of ballistic missile strikes that began just after US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff held hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg. The meeting was meant to address resuming peace negotiations.
Casualties and damage
Air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv through the night and into the day. City authorities said two people were killed and more than 30 wounded. In the eastern city of Lozova, an attack on a crowded market killed two women, aged 50 and 60, and wounded dozens of others. Overnight, strikes hit 12 Ukrainian regions, including residential buildings, energy facilities, shops, cafes and a monastery in Kyiv. In the Moscow region, two people were wounded after Ukraine launched its own large-scale drone attack.
After a series of attacks killed dozens of civilians, all families and children were ordered to leave the frontline towns of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
Zelensky's assessment
Zelensky said the assault began almost immediately after the talks and dismissed Witkoff's description of Putin as a "humanitarian". He warned of further strikes and said Moscow was taking advantage of a slowdown in air-defence deliveries from partners. Kyiv has repeatedly asked allies, including the United States, for Patriot interceptors. In Brussels, NATO said Ukraine may buy weapons through the alliance's central procurement agency on a case-by-case basis. Zelensky also accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians in Kyiv, including with cluster munitions.
Prospects for talks
The Kremlin said it was ready to restart trilateral talks with Kyiv and Washington next month, but rejected new ideas Witkoff brought, which were developed with European countries and Ukraine. Russia demands that Ukraine withdraw from the part of the Donetsk region it still holds and accept limits on its army and Western ties. Ukraine regards this as capitulation. Witkoff called the talks constructive, and technical-level discussions will continue.
Trump said on Wednesday that negotiators were perhaps the closest yet to ending the war, but hopes for a breakthrough in Kyiv and European capitals are slim.
