Moscow strikes Kyiv with drones ahead of Saudi ceasefire talks

At least seven people were killed after Russia launched a barrage of drones across Ukraine overnight on Sunday, according to local Ukrainian officials and emergency services.

The attack on the Ukrainian capital came ahead of ceasefire negotiations in Saudi Arabia in which Ukraine and Russia are expected to hold indirect US-mediated talks on Monday to discuss a pause in long-range attacks targeting energy facilities and civilian infrastructure.

The Ukrainian delegation is expected to meet with US officials in Saudi Arabia a day ahead of the indirect talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Ukraine is planning to send technical teams to discuss the details of the partial ceasefire.

Russia launched 147 drones across Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. Ukrainian air defences shot down 97 and 25 others did not reach targets due to Ukrainian countermeasures. The attacks struck the Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Odesa and Donetsk regions, as well as the capital, Kyiv.

Three people, including a five-year-old child, were killed and 10 others were injured in a drone attack on Kyiv, the city’s military administration said. Extended sounds of explosions were heard across the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of the night as the air raid siren blared for over five hours. Russian drones and debris from shot-down drones, which were flying at lower altitudes to evade air defences, fell on residential buildings.

Two residential buildings in the district of Dnipro caught fire due to falling drone debris, according to Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko. A fire broke out on the top floors of a 9-storey building, killing one woman, the State Emergency Service said.