Russia pounded Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, in a deadly, hours-long assault early on Thursday, hours before a meeting between the top US and Russian diplomats.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Thursday that the US and Russia have exchanged new ideas for Ukraine peace talks after he met his Russian counterpart in Malaysia on Thursday. “I think it’s a new and a different approach,” Rubio said after talks with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.
In the overnight attack, Russia launched 18 missiles and around 400 drones on Ukraine during a “massive combined strike” that lasted for nearly 10 hours, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine posted on social media on Thursday.
“This is a clear escalation of terror by Russia,” Zelensky wrote. He added that he planned to speak with allies about bolstering funding for the production of air defences.
Officer gunned down
A senior Ukrainian security officer was gunned down in a parking lot in Kyiv on Thursday before his assailant fled on foot in broad daylight, according to authorities and video footage verified by Reuters.
New York Times News Service and Reuters