Russia launches huge attack on Kyiv while Trump squeezes Zelenskyy

Russia bombarded Kyiv early Thursday, just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for dismissing a proposed peace deal that would recognize Moscow’s control over Crimea.

“As of 11 a.m., eight people have been confirmed dead,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said Thursday, adding that some individuals may still be trapped under the rubble of the buildings.

Earlier, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported that more than 70 people were injured in the attack, with at least 42 hospitalized, including six children.

It was one of the largest Russian aerial assaults, featuring missiles and drones, to target Kyiv in months. Emergency services also reported that rescuers had extinguished about 40 fires across nine regions of Ukraine.

“Kyiv and the region, Zhytomyr, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Poltava, Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia regions were under massive combined Russian attack,” the emergency services said, adding that Kyiv had suffered the most damage.

Zelenskyy, who arrived in South Africa on Thursday to meet with President Cyril Ramaphosa as part of a broader trip, announced he would cut his visit short and “return to Ukraine immediately after the meeting with the President of South Africa.”

“The Foreign Minister of Ukraine will hold all the necessary meetings in South Africa to fully inform the country’s political and civil society leaders about the situation,” Zelenskyy said.

Russia’s strikes come at a moment of intensifying political pressure for Zelenskyy, as Trump ramps up pressure on the Ukrainian leader to accept the U.S.-proposed peace deal, which favors Moscow.

On Wednesday, Trump criticized Zelenskyy for refusing to acknowledge Russia’s control of Crimea as part of the potential settlement. “It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that makes it so difficult to settle this war. He has nothing to boast about!” Trump said.

In response, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha pointed out that Moscow’s aggressive tactics were the true barrier to peace.

“Yesterday’s Russian maximalist demands for Ukraine to withdraw from its regions, combined with these brutal strikes, show that Russia, not Ukraine, is the obstacle to peace. Moscow, not Kyiv, is where pressure should be applied,” Sybiha said Thursday morning.

Veronika Melkozerova contributed to this report.