KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones against Ukrainian cities in overnight strikes, officials said Thursday, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow is “hesitant” about another round of U.S.-brokered talks to stop the fighting.
Washington has proposed new negotiations next week between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Miami or Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, where the last meeting was held, Zelenskyy said late Wednesday.
Ukraine “immediately confirmed” that it would attend, he said. “So far, from what I understand, Russia is hesitating,” Zelenskyy told reporters in an interview over a messaging app late Wednesday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that another round of talks was expected “soon,” but gave no further details.
U.S. officials did not comment on the possibility of new talks as part of the peace efforts of the Trump administration’s final year. Zelenskyy said last week that the United States has given Ukraine and Russia until June to reach a deal.
But, with Russia’s invasion of its neighbor approaching its fourth anniversary later this month, disagreements between Moscow and kyiv on key issues have held up a comprehensive settlement. Among the issues are who gets the Ukrainian territory that the Russian army has so far occupied, especially in the industrial heartland of Donbas in the east, and Moscow’s demands that kyiv give up more territory.
Ukraine wants Western-backed security guarantees, including a date to join the European Union, and for a post-war reconstruction package to be in place before it can consider signing a proposed 20-point deal, Zelenskyy said.
Russia, meanwhile, has continued to hit Ukrainian civilian areas, including residential areas and the power grid, and Moscow has not responded to a U.S. proposal for an “energy ceasefire” that would also stop Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil facilities, Zelenskyy said.
Overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, Russia fired 219 long-range attack drones, 24 ballistic missiles and one aircraft-launched guided missile at Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian air force.
The main targets were the Ukrainian capital, kyiv; the second largest city, Kharkiv; Dnipro, central Ukraine; and the southern port city of Odessa, the air force said — all cities that have suffered relentless bombing.
In Dnipro, Russian strikes injured four people, including a 4-year-old girl and a newborn baby, regional head Oleksandr Hanzha wrote on Telegram.
In kyiv, several residential buildings were damaged and two people were injured, according to the city administration.
Temperatures have risen above freezing in kyiv, but the city remains bitterly cold. Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said nearly 2,600 residential buildings were left without heat as the attack damaged critical infrastructure.
In Odessa, one person was injured, while a high-rise residential building was partially destroyed and a market and a supermarket caught fire, regional head Oleksandr Hanzha wrote on Telegram.
This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
