The key facts
- Missile strike on Kyiv: at least 15 wounded, metro infrastructure damaged on the Southern Bridge
- Mayor of Moscow: 630 drones flew toward the region, 163 toward the capital, two wounded
- Putin agreed 'in principle' to resume talks with US mediation as early as next month
Overnight exchange of strikes
Russia and Ukraine exchanged large overnight strikes, authorities of both countries said on Thursday. Missiles hit Kyiv in the early hours, at least 15 people were hurt, eight of them hospitalized, city authorities said. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that metro infrastructure on the Southern Bridge across the Dnipro was damaged.
Strikes on Ukrainian regions
In Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine, a woman was killed and four more people were wounded as a result of a Russian strike, regional administration head Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram. A drone also hit energy infrastructure in Poltava region, local authorities said without details.
Statements by Russian authorities
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that 630 drones were launched toward the region overnight, at least two people were hurt. According to him, 'most of them were destroyed by air defense systems,' while 163 drones flew toward the capital. In Lipetsk, one person was hurt when drones struck residential buildings and a medical facility, Governor Igor Artamonov said.
Talks and US mediation
The strikes followed talks by US envoy Steve Witkoff with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Norway earlier in the week, and then a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. The Trump administration has been seeking to mediate an end to the conflict, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Agreements between the sides
Putin agreed 'in principle' to resume peace talks with US mediation as early as next month. Zelensky also said on Wednesday that Ukraine supports the American proposal for trilateral talks at the negotiators' level as soon as possible. US President Donald Trump, after Witkoff's meeting with Putin, said the sides are 'closest' to ending the war. However, this did not stop the exchange of strikes between the countries.
