At least 10 people, including a child, were injured in a Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Thursday evening, according to the city's military administration. Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that six of the wounded were medical personnel. The administration initially reported one death but later retracted it, saying the report was untrue.
Klitschko said the ninth floor of a high-rise residential building in a district near the city center was damaged, and 15 people were evacuated. Unofficial Telegram channels shared videos showing a massive fireball rising into the sky, with reports suggesting the building was hit by a jet-powered drone. Subsequent explosions were heard in the city, and an air raid alert remained in effect for over two hours.
Ukraine's state oil and gas company Naftogaz announced that Russia had also attacked its production sites, causing significant damage to equipment, though no specific location was given. In a separate incident, a Ukrainian drone struck a bus in Horlivka, a Russian-controlled area of Donetsk region, killing one person and injuring five others, according to Interfax news agency. Another drone attack on a passenger bus in Russia's Belgorod region resulted in one death and four injuries.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he expects to host US President Donald Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, in Kyiv in the coming days to resume efforts to end the Russian invasion. He stated that tentative dates have been set and that the envoys, who have previously traveled to Moscow multiple times, have never visited Kyiv. Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of these meetings for reinvigorating diplomacy.
The Russian war on Ukraine, now in its fourth year, has become Europe's worst conflict since World War II, resulting in thousands of civilian deaths and hundreds of thousands of military casualties. Diplomatic efforts have stalled recently as the US has shifted its focus to the Middle East, but the anticipated visit of American envoys may signal a renewed push for negotiations.
Source: www.aljazeera.com