Russia and Ukraine continued to exchange heavy attacks last night. This development occurred after Steven Vitkoff, the special representative of the United States, met with Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, in St. Petersburg.
Attacks on Kyiv and Kharkiv
In the early hours of Thursday, missiles struck Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, injuring at least 15 people, of whom eight were hospitalized. Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, announced that metro infrastructure on the southern bridge over the Dnieper River was also damaged.
Another Russian attack in the Kharkiv region resulted in the death of one woman and injuries to four others. Oleg Synegubov, the governor of the Kharkiv region, announced this news on Telegram. Additionally, a drone also attacked Ukraine's energy infrastructure in the Poltava region, but local officials did not provide further details.
Attacks on Moscow and Lipetsk
Meanwhile, the mayor of Moscow announced that 630 drones were launched towards the area last night, injuring at least two people. Sergey Sobyanin stated on social media that most of these drones were intercepted by air defense systems. He added that 163 drones approached the capital.
In the city of Lipetsk in western Russia, a man was injured due to drone attacks on apartment buildings and a medical center. Igor Artemonov, the governor of the region, announced this news.
Discussions and Peace Efforts
This round of attacks occurred after Vitkoff met with Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, in Norway and then spoke with Putin in Russia. The Trump administration has been trying to mediate between the two sides to end the conflict that began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Putin has "principally" agreed to resume peace negotiations mediated by the United States with Kyiv next month. Zelensky also announced on Wednesday that Ukraine supports the U.S. proposal for a trilateral meeting at the negotiators' level as soon as possible.
The U.S. government, particularly Donald Trump, stated after Vitkoff's meeting with Putin that this is the closest we have come to ending the war. However, this did not prevent the continuation of reciprocal attacks between the two countries.
