Russia has launched a major aerial bombardment against Ukrainian infrastructure targets as talks between the US and Ukraine in Florida are set to enter a third day.
Overnight Russia launched 653 drones and 51 missiles, most of which were downed, authorities said. One strike hit a railway hub at the town of Fastiv outside Kyiv, destroying the main station building and damaging rolling stock.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack had been “meaningless from a military point of view, and the Russians could not have been unaware of this”.
Earlier US and Ukrainian negotiators urged Russia to show a “serious commitment to long-term peace” after talks in Moscow failed to produce a breakthrough.
Moscow has intensified attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector and infrastructure in recent weeks.
On Saturday Ukraine’s energy ministry said Russian attacks had hit energy facilities in eight regions, causing blackouts.
Meanwhile the UN’s nuclear watchdog said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant temporarily lost all external power overnight – the 11th time this has happened since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour.
The Russian defence ministry said it had launched a “massive strike” in response to what it called Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets.
“Russia continues to disregard any peace efforts and instead strikes critical civilian infrastructure,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.
“This shows that no decisions to strengthen Ukraine and raise pressure on Russia can be delayed. And especially not under the pretext of peace process,” he added.
In Florida, a statement posted by US special envoy Steve Witkoff said two days of talks with Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s national security council, had been “constructive”.
Witkoff and Umerov “agreed on the framework of security arrangements” that could such an agreement and “discussed necessary deterrence capabilities to sustain a lasting peace”, their statement said without giving details.
The prospect of ending the war depended on Russia’s readiness to take “steps towards de-escalation and cessation of killing”, the statement added.
The negotiations, which are also attended by US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, will continue for a third day on Saturday.
