Four dead as Russia and Ukraine resume strikes

Russia resumed strikes on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, shortly after the departure of US peace negotiators, attacking the city with ballistic missiles and killing two people.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered the pause in attacks as US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited the Russian and Ukrainian capitals at the weekend.

Russia's army said it had a carried out a "massive strike" on military-industrial sites, logistics hubs and storage centres in Kyiv and its suburbs.

The fresh explosions triggered fires and car alarms in the city, and Kyiv's city military administration said at least two people were killed and seven wounded.

The Ukrainian army's air force reported a missile attack, and the city military administration urged residents to take shelter as the air defence system was in operation.

The strikes damaged buildings across the capital, including a five-storey apartment block in the Solomianskyi district, while vehicles caught fire in the Podilskyi district, authorities said.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said people were trapped in a residential building after the strikes.

"The moment the US president's peace envoys left, Putin launched another massive, horrific attack against Kyiv, damaging residential areas and killing at least two people," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on social media.

"His ballistic missiles speak louder than his words on diplomacy."

Russia's state news agency TASS confirmed earlier that the pause in strikes had expired.

In the Moscow-annexed Crimean peninsula, Russian-installed officials said a Ukrainian attack killed two people.

Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner's trips provided no immediate breakthrough in ending the four-and-a-half-year war, but represented Washington's reengagement with trying to broker a deal between the two sides, which had been on hold for months.

Civilian deaths in Ukraine are running at their highest rate since the first months of Russia's invasion, according to statistics verified by the United Nations.

Air alerts were active in a dozen regions across Ukraine at around 5.30am local time (3.30am Irish time).

Ukraine's air force claimed Russia launched dozens of missiles and 166 drones that targeted mainly the region surrounding Kyiv and the southern region of Odesa.

The air force said on Telegram it downed 142 drones, 31 of 32 cruise missiles, and two ballistic missiles.

It did not disclose how many ballistic missiles had been used in the attack.

The alert in Kyiv has since been cleared.

Telegram channels monitoring air threats on Ukraine said Russia had started to transport ballistic missiles and relocate heavy bombers from the country's east to airfields closer to Ukraine.

Poland also announced "aviation operations" had commenced following the Russian attack.

'Substantive progress' towards 'lasting' peace - US envoy

The strikes came hours after Mr Witkoff touted "substantive progress" in the discussions with Ukraine and Russia, raising the prospect of reviving three-way peace talks to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

"President Trump is working hard to stop the killing and work towards a lasting and durable peace," he said on X.

Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner met Mr Putin in Moscow on Saturday, before holding separate talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in their first official trip to Kyiv.

The Kremlin announced yesterday that it did not rule out three-way talks, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling reporters "it is too early to say anything about the venue or the exact dates at this stage".

Mr Zelensky told US news outlet Axios that the United States was pushing to de-escalate the conflict ahead of the long winter.

Russia has struck Ukraine's energy grid each winter since invading in February 2022, cutting power and heating to millions in temperatures as low as -20C.

Mr Zelensky has said the weekend talks included US proposals around energy facilities, grain shipments and oil and gas exports, but declined to give further details.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today appeared to rule out a Turkish proposal for a truce on strikes in the Black Sea, saying it was "unrealistic" and "impossible to monitor".

The two sides appear no close to agreeing on how the war should end.

Moscow is demanding Ukraine cede territory in its eastern Donetsk region that it still controls and renounce Western military support.

Kyiv has said such terms amount to capitulation and would only allow Russia to prepare a fresh attack in its bid to install a Moscow-friendly puppet government.

Britain's government announced today that it was committing £100 million (€116m) to boost Ukraine's air defence capabilities this winter, including with Patriot missiles.

The UK will also supply "air defence interceptors, large-calibre artillery rounds and drones" as part of the contribution to a NATO programme supporting Kyiv, the defence ministry said in a statement.