Zelensky cuts short South Africa trip after deadly Russian strikes on Kyiv

A "massive" Russian missile attack on Kyiv on Thursday killed at least twelve and wounded dozens in one of the deadliest strikes on the Ukrainian capital since Moscow launched its invasion more than three years ago.

Ukraine has been battered by Russian aerial attacks through the war, but deadly strikes on Kyiv, which is better protected by air defences that other cities, are less common.

It appeared to be Russia's biggest attack on Kyiv in nine months, and Zelensky called it one of Russia's "most outrageous".

The attack drew a rare rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Putin from US President Donald Trump. “Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

The attacks throw yet more doubt on already fraught US efforts to push Russia and Ukraine to agree to a ceasefire, hours after Trump lashed out at his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky for refusing to accept Moscow's occupation of the Crimean peninsula as a condition for peace.

Read moreTrump slams Zelensky for refusing to recognise Russian control of Crimea

Putin has yet to respond to Zelensky's offer to completely halt air attacks on civilian targets, and last month rejected a US-Ukrainian call for a full and unconditional ceasefire.

Zelensky said Thursday that Russia must halt its strikes immediately and added that he would be cutting short a visit to South Africa to urgently return to Kyiv. His first visit to Africa took place just weeks after South Africa for the first time joined a UN General Assembly resolution criticising Russia for the war. 

"It has been 44 days since Ukraine agreed to a full ceasefire and a halt to strikes ... And it has been 44 days of Russia continuing to kill our people," Zelensky said in a post on X. "The strikes must be stopped immediately and unconditionally."

Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on social media that: "Putin demonstrates through his actions, not words, that he does not respect any peace efforts and only wants to continue the war," also slamming Moscow's "maximalist demands for Ukraine to withdraw" from more of its territory as a condition of peace.

"Putin shows only a desire to kill," added Andriy Yermak, a top Zelensky aide.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said Russia had "terrorised Ukrainian cities throughout the night".

"Cruise and ballistic missiles, drones, air bombs. Russia is cruelly and cynically firing missiles at Ukrainian cities, killing people while the world is making efforts to establish peace," he said in a post on social media.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Zelensky in a weekly briefing on Thursday of refusing to make any concessions in peace talks and of only being open to a ceasefire on his own terms. She accused the Ukrainian president of derailing peace talks in London and said he was ready to torpedo the settlement process at any price.

Rescue operations under way after deadly Russian strike on Kyiv

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'Phone calls under rubble'

Loud blasts had sounded over the Ukrainian capital at around 1am local time (10pm GMT) after air raid sirens rang out across Kyiv warning residents to head to shelters, AFP journalists on the ground said.

Through the night, rescue workers were scouring through the rubble of destroyed buildings and tackling blazes in apartment blocks. The interior ministry said damage was recorded at 13 separate locations across the capital.

Rescuers initially said nine people were killed, but interior minister Igor Klymenko later told reporters eight were dead, while more than 70 were injured.

"Phone calls can be heard from under the rubble – the search will continue until we are confident that we have found everyone," Klymenko said, adding that two children were unaccounted for.

In the Sviatoshinsky district in the west of Kyiv, an AFP journalist saw a body bag with one of the victims lain out on a strip of grass.

Read moreA trap? Behind Putin’s change of heart on direct talks with Ukraine

Construction equipment was being used nearby to clear piles of debris from a destroyed building, and roofs and windows had been blown off an apartment block. 

A woman sat on a small folded-out chair stroking the arm of another person killed in the attack, the body covered in a striped blue sheet.

Nearby an AFP journalist saw a first responder talking to a woman wounded in the attack, her face bloodied and bruised as she clutched a dog in her arms.

Kyiv was last hit by missiles in early April when at least three people were wounded, and the capital has been targeted in sporadic attacks since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Moscow's army has launched some of its most deadly and brazen aerial strikes at Ukraine over the last month – defying Trump's push to bring about a rapid end to the bloodshed.

A ballistic missile strike on the centre of northeastern city of Sumy killed at least 35 people on April 13.

And an attack on Zelensky's home town of Kryvyi Rig in early April killed at least 19 – including nine children after a missile slammed into a residential area near a children's playground.

Russian attack on Kharkiv

Russia also launched a large-scale attack on the northeastern city of Kharkiv overnight.

City Mayor Igor Terekhov said at least seven missiles had been fired at the city.

"One of the most recent strikes hit a densely populated residential area ...  Two people were injured there. The inspection of the sites of enemy strikes is underway," Terekhov said, urging the city's residents to "be careful".

Separately, Russia's defence ministry reported downing 87 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 45 over Crimea.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)