Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, killed at least two people in the early hours of Saturday, local officials have confirmed.
The deadly strikes occurred just ahead of a second round of peace negotiations, as a renewed US-led diplomatic effort to end the conflict gains momentum this week.
The Kyiv City Military Administration announced on its official Telegram channel that two people had died in the attacks.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that 15 people were wounded, adding that falling debris from intercepted Russian drones had struck residential buildings. He also noted that the western districts of Kyiv had experienced power cuts.
This latest bombardment of Kyiv comes as Ukrainian peace negotiators prepare to meet their US counterparts in Washington this weekend.
This information comes from an official within Ukraine’s presidential administration, who spoke anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the discussions.
A US delegation is subsequently expected to travel to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the latter half of next week.
The renewed diplomatic push follows a 28-point proposal for ending the nearly four-year war, released last week by Donald Trump. The plan, which was seen to heavily favour Russia, prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to swiftly engage with American negotiators.
European leaders, fearing for their own future as they face Russian aggression, scrambled to steer the negotiations towards accommodating their concerns.
Mr Trump said on Tuesday that his plan to end the war had been “fine-tuned” and that he was sending special envoy Steve Witkoff to Russia to meet with Putin, and the army secretary Dan Driscoll to meet with Ukrainian officials.
He suggested he could eventually meet with Putin and Mr Zelensky, but not until further progress has been made in negotiations.
On Friday Mr Zelensky announced the resignation of his powerful chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, who was also the country’s lead negotiator in the talks with the US, after Mr Yermak’s home was searched by anti-corruption investigators.
The unprecedented search at the heart of Ukraine’s government is a blow for the Ukrainian leader that could disrupt his negotiating strategy at a time when Kyiv is under intense US pressure to sign a peace deal.
On Saturday the office of the French president Emmanuel Macron announced that Mr Zelensky will visit Mr Macron in Paris on Monday, as the Ukrainian leader finds himself in the most difficult political and military situation since Russia's invasion in 2022.
The two leaders will discuss "the conditions of a just and durable peace", following talks in Geneva and the American peace plan, the Elysee Palace said. Mr Zelensky was last in Paris on 17 November.
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