• Strikes kill two, cut power to 600,000 homes
• Talks on peace plan in Florida today
• Moscow claims Kyiv, sponsors trying to ‘torpedo’ deal

KYIV: Russia launched a massive barrage of hundreds of missiles and drones against Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine on Saturday, an assault President Volodymyr Zelensky characterised as Moscow’s response to a pending peace plan he is set to discuss with US President Donald Trump today (Sunday).

The heavy bombardment came just a day before Zelensky was scheduled to meet Trump in Florida to work out a strategy to end the nearly four-year war.

Zelensky cast the vast overnight attack, which he said involved about 500 drones and 40 missiles, as a deliberate signal from the Kremlin regarding the US-brokered peace efforts.

“Today, Russia demonstrated how it responds to peaceful negotiations between Ukraine and the United States to end Russia’s war against Ukraine,” Zelensky told reporters.

The airstrikes continued throughout the morning, forcing a nearly 10-hour air raid alert for the capital. Authorities said two people were killed in Kyiv and the surrounding region, while at least 46 people were wounded, including two children.

Explosions echoed across the city from the early hours as air defence units engaged the incoming fire. State grid operator Ukrenergo said energy facilities across the country were struck, necessitating emergency power cuts.

Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko stated that about 600,000 households in Kyiv and the surrounding region had lost power. Despite the violence, Zelensky confirmed he was travelling to the United States today for crucial talks. The meeting is expected to focus on security guarantees and territorial control.

Zelensky told journalists in Kyiv that a 20-point draft document — the cornerstone of the US push to clinch a peace deal — is 90 per cent complete. However, significant diplomatic stumbling blocks remain regarding the shape of US security guarantees.

“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump told Politico. “So we’ll see what he’s got.”

Zelensky said the guarantees would depend on Trump and “what he is ready to give, when he is ready to give it, and for how long”.

Meanwhile, Russia accused the Ukrainian president and his European backers of seeking to sabotage the process. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov claimed “Kyiv and its sponsors” in the European Union had stepped up efforts to “torpedo” the agreement.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2025