Kyiv was hit overnight by the deadliest Russian attack on the capital since last summer, with at least eight people killed as ballistic missiles and drones pummelled the city.
Rescue missions were launched in five districts of the city as emergency workers scrambled to pull people out of the rubble.
Russia launched a total of 215 drones and missiles at the country in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Ukraine’s air force said, adding that Kyiv was the “main direction of the attack”.
At least 70 people were injured, including six children and a pregnant woman, authorities reported.
Volodymyr Zelensky, who cut short a trip to South Africa due to the attack, said it was “extremely important that everyone around the world sees and understands what is really happening”.
“Putin shows only a desire to kill,” said Andriy Yermak, Mr Zelensky’s chief of staff. “The attacks on civilians must stop.”
It comes amid faltering peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Donald Trump on Wednesday blamed Mr Zelensky for derailing his ceasefire plan by refusing to accept Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea.
Kyiv’s mayor has provided an update from the Ukrainian capital after Russia’s overnight strikes there.
Vitali Klitschko said eight people have been confirmed killed in the capital, although officials earlier put the toll at nine.
He said 77 people have been injured in the attack and that 31 people are in hospital, with search and rescue operations ongoing.
Russia has accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of “wrecking” hopes of reaching a peace deal.
Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, told reporters it was becoming clearer by the minute that Ukraine’s president lacked the capacity to negotiate a deal to end the war.
Ms Zakharova added that European counties supplying weapons to Kyiv were encouraging Zelenskyy to pursue the war, regardless of casualties.
Mr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump clashed again on Wednesday, with Trump chiding the Ukrainian leader for refusing to recognise Russia’s claim to the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Trump in recent days has said he will walk away from trying to negotiate a settlement in Ukraine if Kyiv and Moscow do not make a deal soon.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday he is cutting short his official trip to South Africa and returning home after a Russian strike on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
Mr Zelensky said “a lot of destruction” was caused by Moscow’s overnight missile attack that killed nine people, adding that “more than 80 people have been injured throughout Ukraine.”
Mr Zelensky wrote on Telegram that he will fly back to Kyiv after meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, will instead hold all necessary meetings, where Kyiv hopes to recruit further South African support in efforts to end Russia’s more than three-year war.
Russia launched 215 drones and missiles at the country during its overnight attack, Ukraine’s air force said.
Air force units shot down 48 missiles and 64 drones, while 68 drones were redirected, likely as a result of Ukraine’s use of electronic warfare to misdirect them, it added in a post on Telegram.
The air force said Kyiv was the “main direction of the attack”, where Ukrainian authorities have reported at least nine people were killed.
A major rescue operation is underway in Kyiv following Russia’s overnight drone and missile attack.
More than 70 people suffered injuries from the attack, with nine people so far confirmed to have died.
“Mobile phones can be heard ringing under the ruins,” Ukraine’s interior minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram. “The search will continue until everybody is got out.”
Mr Klymenko said that engineering forces, climbers and search dogs had all been employed to help emergency services in the rescue operation.
He added that there was still no information on the whereabouts of two missing children.
Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in the event it faces aggression by Western countries, Russia’s top security official told local media on Thursday.
Sergei Shoigu cited amendments made last year to Russia’s nuclear doctrine that allow it to use nuclear weapons in the event Russia or its neighbour and ally Belarus are attacked, including by conventional weapons,the TASS state news agency reported.
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