Russia's daylight drone attack on Kyiv kills 2 as Zelenskyy heads to UN talks
Russia launched daylight drone attacks on Kyiv on Wednesday, killing two people and injuring 23, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepared for meetings with world leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York.
The strikes were part of what authorities said have become daily Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians. The overnight drone assault set off fires and damaged buildings in Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, while black smoke rose over the capital.
Zelenskyy is in New York for the annual UN gathering as part of his diplomatic push to shore up and widen international support for Ukraine in its gruelling 4-year fight against Russia's invasion. He was due to address the General Assembly later on Wednesday and was also scheduled to meet European leaders and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy met US President Donald Trump, who has shown impatience with the lack of progress in talks aimed at ending the war and with the escalating aerial attacks by both sides this year. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that there are "no concrete plans" for more US-brokered talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is not scheduled to attend the UN gathering this year. NATO officials and European governments have accused him of sabotage, espionage and other threats. Separately, the Polish military said a Russian military helicopter briefly violated Poland's airspace on Wednesday near the border with Russia's Kaliningrad exclave. It said "the nature of the incident suggests that Russia is once again testing the readiness of our air defence".
Ukraine, meanwhile, has struck back by damaging Russian oil refineries, a key part of that country's economy. At the start of his US visit, Zelenskyy said he had proposals to make on possible de-escalation in the war. Among Kyiv's urgent concerns are stopping Russian strikes on Ukraine's power grid and ensuring Ukrainian grain can continue to reach world markets through the Black Sea despite the war. Ukraine also needs more US-made Patriot air defence systems to protect against Russian ballistic missiles, but the systems are in short supply after the war in Iran began.
In Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine, two men aged 37 and 39 were injured in a strike that sparked a major fire at a shopping mall. Emergency services said the fire spread across about 6,000 square metres, or 1.5 acres, before it was brought under control. The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces overnight hit Ukraine's military-industrial and energy sector facilities, logistics centres and sea vessels. It also said Russian air defences intercepted more than 500 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions, as well as illegally annexed Crimea and waters of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Overall, Wednesday's developments underlined the continuing intensity of the war as Kyiv sought more diplomatic and military backing abroad while facing fresh attacks at home.
