Russia launched one of its heaviest overnight attacks on Ukraine just hours before a scheduled meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, sharply escalating the conflict at a sensitive diplomatic moment.
According to international news agency Reuters, Russian forces fired hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles late Saturday, striking Kyiv and multiple regions across the country. President Zelenskyy said the attack involved around 500 drones and 40 missiles. Several parts of the Ukrainian capital lost power as a result of the strikes.
Ukrainian authorities said at least two people were killed and 46 others, including two children, were injured in Kyiv and nearby areas. With temperatures dropping below freezing, the power outages caused widespread disruption. Reuters reported that daily life in Kyiv and surrounding regions was severely affected as residents faced darkness and a lack of heating.
In Moscow, officials said air defense systems intercepted eight Ukrainian drones. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the drones were shot down before reaching their intended targets.
Russia has continued targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, including facilities linked to nuclear power. The latest attacks forced emergency power cuts in Kyiv. Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said more than one million households in and around the capital were left without electricity.
By Saturday afternoon, electricity had still not been restored to about 750,000 homes. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said heating services were disrupted in more than 40 percent of residential buildings in Kyiv.
The attacks came as President Zelenskyy prepared to travel to Washington, D.C., on Sunday for talks expected to be crucial to efforts to end the war. President Trump, working through his special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, has drafted a 20-point peace proposal following discussions with Ukrainian officials.
Ukraine has said it is largely in agreement with the plan. Zelenskyy said decisions on territorial issues and security guarantees would be made only after direct talks with Trump. While traveling to meet the U.S. president, Zelenskyy stopped in Halifax, Canada, where he met Prime Minister Mark Carney.
After the meeting, Carney announced additional financial support of 2.5 billion Canadian dollars for Ukraine, saying peace would require genuine political will from Russia. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said all efforts toward a lasting peace that protects Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity should be welcomed.
Territorial control and the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remain the main obstacles in the peace negotiations. Zelenskyy said the U.S.-backed 20-point framework is about 90 percent complete. He added that decisions on long-term security guarantees would ultimately depend on President Trump.
