A Russian missile attack on Kyiv on Thursday, April 24th, killed at least nine and wounded dozens in one of the deadliest strikes on the Ukrainian capital since Moscow launched its invasion in 2022.
Ukraine has been battered by Russian aerial attacks through the war, but deadly strikes on Kyiv, which is better protected by air defences that other cities, are less common.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is yet to respond to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky’s offer to completely halt air attacks on civilian targets, and last month rejected a U.S.-Ukrainian call for a full and unconditional ceasefire.
“Putin demonstrates through his actions, not words, that he does not respect any peace efforts and only wants to continue the war,” Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on social media, also slamming Moscow’s “maximalist demands for Ukraine to withdraw” from more of its territory as a condition of peace.
Hours before the attack, U.S. President Donald Trump had said a peace deal was “very close”—and effectively closed with Moscow—but accused Zelensky of being “harder” to negotiate with.
