Russia’s massive strike against Ukrainian capital kills dozens of people and injured dozens, while peace talks are clearly stagnant

Russia has attacked Kief with one-hour missiles and drones since July last year, killing at least 12 people and attacking about 90 people in its deadly 90 attacks on the Ukrainian capital. With peace talks seemingly stagnant.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he briefly cut his official journey to South Africa after the attack and returned home as Kyiv was bombed, which left residents on the brink for about 11 hours. Zelenskyy called the strike “one of (Russia)’s most outrageous”.

Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced that Friday will be the official day of mourning in the capital.

The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia fired 66 ballistic and cruise missiles, air missiles launched by four aircraft, and 145 Shahed and 145 Shahed and Bait drones toward four other regions in Ukraine.

Rescuers using flashlights searched for the rubble of partially collapsed houses as blue lights of emergency vehicles illuminated the dark city streets.

The attack began around 1 a.m. and at least five communities in Kiev were attacked.

The French news agency AFP reported that Russia claimed it was targeting Ukrainian defense industry, including factories that produce “rocket fuel and gunpowder” during strikes.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko told Reuters eight people were killed in the capital. Officials had earlier said nine people were killed.

The attack was as weeks of peace talks seemed to be reaching their peak, ignoring the president’s hours Trump lashes at Zelenskyyaccusing him of refusing to surrender to the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula as part of a possible deal, thus extending the “field of murder.”

“This is exactly the same as the understanding we have been saying for a long time,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

Zelenskyy in More than three years of war Those who recognize the occupied as Russians are the red line of his country. He noted on Thursday that Ukraine had agreed to a U.S. ceasefire proposal 44 days ago, which was the first step in negotiating peace, but that the Russian attacks continued.

He said in South Africa that the latest attack means that the future of negotiations “depends on Russia’s intentions as it must make a decision in Moscow.”

Despite talks in recent weeks, Russia attacked Sumi City, killing more than 30 civilians gathered to celebrate Palm Sunday, beat Odesa with drones and blew up Zaporizhzhia with powerful Glide bombs.

The EU’s foreign policy head Kaja Kallas said the latest attack stressed that the main obstacle to ending the war was Russia.

“While claiming to seek peace, Russia carried out a deadly air strike in Kiev,” she wrote on social media. “This is not a pursuit of peace, but a mockery of it.”

Senior U.S. officials warn that if both sides do not compromise, the Trump administration will soon abandon its efforts to stop the war.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the attacks show Russian President Vladimir Putin’s determination to impose a greater military advantage on the frontline of about 620 miles and currently has momentum.

Sybiha said on X: “Putin proves through his actions rather than words that he does not respect any peaceful efforts and wants to continue the war. Weakness and concessions will not stop his terror and aggression. Only strength and pressure will.”

According to Reuters News, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova asserted on Thursday that Zelenskyy refused to make any concessions in peace talks and only agreed to stop the ceasefire on its own terms.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal pointed out that the Russian attack has killed about 13,000 civilians, including 618 children, since the full-scale invasion of its neighbors in February 2022.

In a Kiev residential building that was almost destroyed on Thursday, emergency workers took the rubble away with their hands and rescued a trapped woman who emerged from the wreckage covered in white dust and moaned in pain.

An elderly woman was sitting on a brick wall with blood on her face, her eyes fixed to the ground in shock when medical staff leaned towards the wound.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city military authority, said there was a fire in several residential buildings.

One student, Oksana Bilozir, suffered a head injury in the attack. Her bandage oozed out, she said, and when the air alarm sniffed, she heard an explosion, and when another explosion caused the house’s walls to collapse and the lights went out, she began to grab her stuff and escape to the shelter.

“I honestly don’t even know how this will end, it’s very terrible,” Bilozier said. “I just believe that if we can stop them on the battlefield, that’s it. There’s no diplomatic role here.”

The attack woke many people all night as many loud explosions echoed around the city, and the light flashed with the stimulating sky. The family gathered in a public airstrike shelter, some of whom brought pets.

Mother Anastasiia Zhuravlova, 33, sheltered in the basement after multiple explosions damaged her home. Her family was sleeping when the first explosion shattered the window and made the kitchen utensils fly. When they were anxious to cover the corridor, the glass shards rained.

“After that, we came to the shelter because it was horrible and dangerous at home,” she said.