Strike on Kyiv shows that Putin is ‘not preparing for peace’: Zelensky

KYIV, Ukraine: A fatal Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv early on Wednesday shows that the Kremlin is not interested in pursuing peace in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

AFP journalists in the capital heard a volley of explosions ring out over the city and saw the body of one person killed covered in a black plastic sheet on a street littered with debris.

Zelensky announced that one person was killed and at least four others were wounded — including a child — in the attack that he said had damaged apartment blocks, office buildings, and civilian infrastructure.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is “not preparing for peace — he continues to kill Ukrainians and destroy cities,” Zelensky wrote on social media after the attack.

“Only strong steps and pressure on Russia can stop this terror. Right now we need the unity and the support of all our partners in the fight for a just end to this war,” he added.

Those comments come on the back of mounting rhetoric from Moscow, Washington, and Kyiv over the possibility of negotiations that could end the nearly three-year Russian invasion.

Emergency services said that some 120 rescue workers had been deployed to three districts of the capital in the aftermath of the attack and that fires sparked by the barrage had been extinguished.

North of Kyiv in the Chernigiv region, governor Vyacheslav Chaus said Russian forces had targeted “critical infrastructure” in the barrage and that two people were wounded there.

The Ukrainian air force said it had shot down six missiles and 71 out of 123 drones, including Iranian-designed Shahed attack vehicles, were shot down.

-AFP