Zelensky cuts short South African trip after Russian strike on Kyiv kills nine
Fires were reported in several residential buildings, said the head of the city military administration.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is cutting short his official trip to South Africa and returning home after a Russian strike on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv killed at least nine people and injured more than 70.
Mr Zelensky said in a Telegram post that he will fly back to Kyiv after meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The Ukrainian leader had hoped to recruit further South African support in efforts to end his country’s war with Russia, which is now in its fourth year.
The attack on Kyiv came hours after peace negotiations appeared to stall, with President Donald Trump lashing out at Mr Zelensky, saying he was prolonging the “killing field” by pushing back on ceding Crimea to Russia as part of a potential peace plan.
Later that day, Mr Trump said “it’s been harder” to deal with Mr Zelensky than with Russia.
Mr Zelensky has said multiple times that recognising occupied territory as Russian is a red line for his country.
The Kyiv City Military Administration said on its Telegram channel that Russia struck Kyiv with drones and ballistic missiles.
At least 45 drones were detected, the administration said, adding that Ukraine’s Air Force would update the figures later.
At least 42 people were taken to local hospitals, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said. Rescue operations to find bodies under the rubble were still underway on Thursday morning.
Fires were reported in several residential buildings, said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the city military administration.
Rescue operations were still under way on Thursday morning to find bodies under the rubble.
The attack, which began at around 1am, hit at least four neighbourhoods in Kyiv.
In the Sviatoshynskyi district, a fire broke out in a residential building that was damaged in the attack.
The Associated Press saw rescue teams dig out people trapped under the rubble of the building and bodies being taken away.
Oksana Bilozir, a student, was receiving medical care for a head injury near the impact site.
She said that she heard a loud explosion after the air alarm blared and began to grab her things to flee to a shelter, when another blast caused her home’s walls to crumble and the lights to go off.
The attack came hours after peace negotiations appeared to stall, with US President Donald Trump lashing out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying Mr Zelensky was prolonging the “killing field” by pushing back on ceding Crimea to Russia as part of a potential peace plan.
Mr Zelensky has said multiple times that recognising occupied territory as Russian is a red line for his country.
“I honestly don’t even know how this will all end, it’s very scary,” said Ms Bilozir, referring to the war against Russia’s invasion.
“I only believe that if we can stop them on the battlefield, then that’s it. No diplomacy works here.”
More fires were reported in the Shevchenkivskyi and Holosiivskyi districts.
Anastasiia Zhuravlova, 33, a mother-of-two, was sheltering in a basement after multiple blasts damaged her home.
Her family was sleeping when the first explosion shattered their windows and sent kitchen appliances flying into the air.
Shards of glass rained down on them as they rushed to take cover in the corridor.
“After that, we came to the shelter because it was scary and dangerous at home,” she said.
