Russia Airstrikes on Kyiv Leaves One Dead, Over Twenty Injured

(MENAFN) Ukraine reported Saturday that at least one person was killed and 23 others wounded in Russian aerial assaults targeting the capital Kyiv and the northeastern city of Kharkiv, even as trilateral peace negotiations unfolded in the United Arab Emirates.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced on Telegram that blazes erupted across multiple structures in several districts of the city following the overnight bombardment.

"Currently, one person is known to have died and four injured. Three of the injured have been hospitalized," Klitschko said, adding that there are interruptions in heat and water supply on the city's left bank.

In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, Mayor Ihor Terekhov documented fires at apartment buildings and confirmed that a hospital and a maternity hospital were also damaged.

He said the city's Industrialnyi and Nemyshlianskyi districts were the "hardest hit areas" in an attack by 25 Russian drones.

Terekhov reported that seven people were injured, later saying the number rose to 19.

Subsequently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on US social media platform X that every Russian strike on his country's energy infrastructure proves there must be no delays in other countries supplying Ukraine with air defenses.

"We are counting on the reaction and assistance of all our partners. Every missile for Patriot, NASAMS [short- to medium-range ground-based air defense system], and all other systems helps protect critical infrastructure and enables people to endure the winter cold. We must ensure full implementation of everything agreed with (US) President (Donald) Trump in Davos regarding air defense," he added, referring to this week's World Economic Forum meeting in Switzerland.

Ukraine's Air Force claimed on Telegram that the country's air defenses shot down 357 out of 375 drones, as well as 15 out of 21 missiles, launched by Russia overnight.

Russian authorities have not yet commented on the attacks.

The reports emerged after Russia, Ukraine, and the US on Friday concluded the first of two days of trilateral talks in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi.

Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine's delegation at the talks, said on US social media platform Facebook that the negotiations are focused on the parameters for ending the conflict with "a dignified and lasting peace."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a state news agency that efforts to resolve the war are "progressing," stressing the importance of implementing what he called the "Anchorage formula," a reference to a meeting last August in the US state of Alaska between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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