By Pavel Polityuk and Olena Harmash
KYIV (Reuters) -Russia launched a new barrage of drones and missiles at the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Tuesday, killing six people, wounding 13, and disrupting electricity and heating systems, officials said.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russian forces launched more than 460 drones and 22 missiles. It was the second major Russian strike on Kyiv this month.
“The primary targets were the energy sector and everything that keeps normal life going,” Zelenskiy said in a post on the Telegram app.
Ukrainian air defence units shot down 22 missiles and 464 drones, the air force said.
As Russia hit Kyiv in several waves of attacks, diplomatic talks on how to end the war gained momentum. Ukrainian, European, and U.S. officials have held several rounds of talks in recent days discussing peace proposals after Washington presented a plan that would satisfy many of Russia’s demands.
ZELENSKIY CALLS FOR AIR DEFENCE, WEAPONS
“What matters most now is that all partners move toward diplomacy together, through joint efforts. Pressure on Russia must deliver results,” Zelenskiy said, urging uninterrupted weapons and air defence supplies to Kyiv.
Zelenskiy said that four Russian drones had flown over Ukraine’s neighbours Moldova and NATO-member Romania.
Romania sent out fighter jets to track drones which breached its territory near the border with Ukraine, and one was still advancing deeper into the country, the Romanian defence ministry said.
Romania shares a 650-km (400-mile) land border with Ukraine and has had drones breach its airspace and fragments fall onto its territory repeatedly since Russia began attacking Kyiv’s ports across the Danube.
ELECTRICITY, HEATING SUPPLIES DISRUPTED
Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said Russian strikes had disrupted electricity supplies to more than 102,000 people in five Ukrainian regions.
Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the military administration for the capital, said damage was recorded at 13 sites across Kyiv. Residential and commercial buildings and infrastructure were damaged.
Kyiv city officials also said heating supplies across several districts in the capital were restricted. Weather is unseasonably warm with temperatures hovering at about 8 Celsius.
“The Russians are deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure and housing. Cynical terror,” Tkachenko said on Telegram.
Moscow denies intentionally targeting civilians despite having killed thousands of them since launching its invasion in 2022. It says civilian infrastructure such as energy supplies are legitimate targets to hurt Ukraine’s ability to fight.
Ukrainian officials also said that port and energy infrastructure were damaged in the Black Sea port of Odesa, where six people were injured.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Olena Harmash; Editing by Peter Graff)
