Kyiv Rocked by Massive Missile Strikes Hours After Putin Offers to Resume Peace Talks

Russia launched a significant missile attack on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, overnight into Thursday. This assault occurred just hours after President Vladimir Putin indicated the Kremlin's readiness to restart trilateral peace talks next month. Putin had agreed to resume discussions with Ukraine and the United States at the request of US special envoy Steve Witkoff during a three-hour meeting on Wednesday, with the talks potentially resuming after November 10.

However, this diplomatic overture, which included Witkoff's controversial description of Putin as a "humanitarian" for releasing a detained American citizen, was followed by an attack involving 21 missiles and 210 drones targeting Ukraine. US President Donald Trump had stated on Wednesday that his administration was "the closest we’ve been" to resolving the war in Ukraine. The initial explosions in Kyiv occurred just three minutes before Trump made these remarks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported on Thursday that the large-scale strikes resulted in two fatalities and injured 34 others. Ukrainian officials also stated that central Kyiv was struck with a cluster warhead. Zelensky commented, "Russian ‘humanitarians’ have launched three waves of ballistic strikes against Kyiv since this evening," adding, "This means there has been no real change in its attitude toward everything that is happening." He urged for decisive action, stating, "When Russian ballistic missiles are the response to negotiations, real pressure must be applied on Russia to take other steps – steps to stop the killings," and called for the swift delivery of air defense missiles.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, none of the ballistic missiles that struck Kyiv were intercepted. This comes at a time when the country is experiencing a critical shortage of US-made Patriot defense missiles. Air raid sirens continued to sound in Kyiv on Thursday, with alerts warning of further incoming ballistic missile attacks.

In a separate incident, a Russian attack targeted the central market in Lozova, Kharkiv region, killing at least two people and injuring dozens more who were shopping, according to the mayor. Meanwhile, in Russia, Moscow's mayor reported that 630 drones were directed towards the region overnight, with two people injured in the rural Voronovo area. Most of these drones were reportedly intercepted.

Despite the optimistic statements regarding potential future negotiations, there is no indication that Russia has altered its maximalist demands. Russia's previous conditions have included Ukraine ceding the entire eastern Donbas region, which is largely under Russian occupation, significantly reducing its military size, and pledging never to join NATO.

According to a briefing from Putin's aide Yury Ushakov, the Kremlin wishes to discuss the establishment of a "security framework" for both Russia and Ukraine post-conflict, without providing specific details on Russia's demands. Ushakov mentioned that the next trilateral round could potentially take place in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Zelensky expressed his desire for the meeting to occur "no later than the beginning of November," noting past instances where Russia agreed to meetings only for them to be canceled. He stated, "Let's see what happens this time."

The meeting in St. Petersburg followed Witkoff's summit with Zelensky in Norway the previous day. Witkoff described both meetings as "constructive" on X, formerly Twitter, and indicated that discussions would continue. He wrote, "While there is still important work left to do, President Trump remains committed to seeing this war end and achieving a comprehensive, durable peace."

During the talks, Putin also conveyed interest in restoring economic cooperation with the United States and exploring a meeting with China to discuss Ukraine. This follows recent actions by the Trump administration to waive sanctions on Russia and finalize a diesel export deal. Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev stated that US-Russian economic cooperation would continue and the diesel deal would proceed despite European objections.

A significant outcome of the meeting was Witkoff's announcement of Russia's release of 74-year-old American Stephen Hubbard, who had been detained for over four years. A video showed Hubbard speaking with Witkoff at the St. Petersburg airport. The discussions also covered Russia's potential role in resolving the war in Iran, Russian fertilizer exports to the US, and Hubbard's release. The meeting, which included translators, also saw the remote participation of Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, who has been involved in the peace negotiations, due to illness.

A US official reported that the US and Ukraine made "meaningful progress" in the Norway talks, achieving "strong alignment" on next steps. Discussions reportedly included key elements for a peace framework, such as long-term security guarantees for Ukraine, a post-war economic plan, and a broader European security architecture. However, Ushakov downplayed these developments, suggesting they offered "little of actual value for resolving the Ukrainian crisis."

Ukraine and its allies have reiterated their non-negotiable conditions, including future security guarantees to prevent further Russian aggression and a rejection of any demands to cede territory. In a Fox News interview, Zelensky reiterated Ukraine's willingness to accept a ceasefire based on the current frontline, which would mean retaining approximately 75 percent of Ukrainian territory, followed by seeking meaningful security guarantees from allies. He also expressed a desire for trilateral negotiations involving Trump, Putin, and himself, though he suggested involving Europeans would be preferable. Zelensky stated, "I always said that we are open to negotiate in any format, any topics, but don’t speak about us without us, please," expressing reservations about potential Russia-China-US negotiations.

A European official in Oslo commented, "I think plans – or lack of – isn’t as much of a problem as getting Russia to treat any plan seriously."