Russia heavily bombs Ukraine, at least four dead in Kiev

BEIRUT — Russia heavily bombarded Ukraine with drones and ballistic missiles overnight from Thursday to Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kiev, just days after a spectacular attack on Russian military airfields.

While the Kremlin had hinted that it was preparing a response, air raid alerts went off overnight across the Ukrainian territory, and several regions reported multiple strikes, particularly in the west, far from the front line.

"Four people are confirmed dead in the capital," said Mayor Vitali Klitschko on Telegram, after initially reporting one dead and 20 injured, including 16 hospitalized. Emergency services had earlier indicated that Kiev was the target of an "attack involving drones and ballistic missiles" hitting several neighborhoods of the city. Among the reported damage from explosions and falling debris, a fire broke out in a residential building, the same source specified.

According to the city's civil and military authorities, subway tracks were damaged by the Russian bombings. The national railway company reported damage to the rails in the region, affecting train traffic serving the southern outskirts of Kiev.

Outside the capital, several regions reported significant Russian bombings. In Lutsk (west), not far from the Polish border, "a massive missile and drone attack" "partially destroyed" a residential building, injuring five, according to the head of the regional military administration Ivan Rudnytsky on Telegram.

Also in the west, the Ternopil region suffered "the most massive air attack to date," with "multiple strikes" according to Vyacheslav Negoda, head of the regional military administration. "Industrial facilities and infrastructure were hit," said Ternopil Mayor Serhiy Nadal. "Some parts of Ternopil are without electricity, and the water distribution pressure has been reduced due to power outages."

Train accidents

In Russia, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin indicated that the capital had been targeted by 10 Ukrainian drones overnight. Three airports serving Moscow were temporarily closed, according to the agency in charge of air transport, which later lifted the restrictions.

Despite appeals from Ukraine and Western countries for an immediate cease-fire and pressure from Donald Trump to initiate talks and end the conflict, the fighting shows no sign of abating, more than three years after the launch of Russia's large-scale military offensive. Russia currently controls about 20% of this neighboring country, including Crimea, a peninsula annexed in 2014.

Following a call with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, the American president warned that Moscow was planning to retaliate for the bold attack launched last weekend by Ukraine against Russian bombers, thousands of miles from its borders.

Moscow also accused Kiev on Tuesday of causing the explosions that led last weekend to the collapse of two bridges and train accidents that killed seven and injured more than a hundred, including children, in the Russian regions of Kursk and Bryansk, bordering Ukraine. Overnight from Thursday to Friday, a locomotive derailed in the Russian region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine, without causing any casualties, according to the Russian railway company. The governor of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, stated that an "explosive device had been placed under the tracks" on Telegram.

On the diplomatic front, two rounds of negotiations held in Istanbul between Kiev and Moscow regarding a cease-fire, encouraged by Washington, have not brought the positions closer. During the second meeting, on Monday under Turkish mediation, the Russian delegation handed Kiev a list of demands, including the withdrawal of its forces from four regions that Moscow claims annexation of, Ukraine's renunciation of joining NATO, and the limitation of its army's size. These conditions were described on Wednesday by Volodymyr Zelensky as "unacceptable ultimatums."

The only result of these discussions: Russians and Ukrainians are to proceed this weekend with a new exchange of 500 prisoners of war from each side, following a previous exchange of 1,000 people each way in May. Kiev and Moscow have also agreed to return the bodies of thousands of soldiers killed.

During a visit to Washington on Thursday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz advocated with Donald Trump "to increase pressure on Russia" to bring about an end to the war.