KYIV, April 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cancelled part of his trip to South Africa on Thursday after Russia fired a barrage of missiles and drones at Kyiv, killing at least eight people and trapping others under rubble.
Ukraine has been battered with aerial attacks throughout Russia’s three-year invasion, but deadly strikes on Kyiv, which is better protected by air defences than other cities, are less common.
The attacks threw yet more doubt on already fraught US efforts to push Russia and Ukraine to agree to a ceasefire, hours after US President Donald Trump lashed out at Zelenskyy for refusing to accept Moscow’s occupation of Crimea as a condition for peace.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is yet to respond to Zelenskyy’s proposal to completely halt air attacks on civilian targets, and last month rejected a US-Ukrainian call for a full and unconditional ceasefire.
“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,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.
The Ukrainian leader, who was on a trip to South Africa, announced he would return to Ukraine immediately after meeting the country’s president Cyril Ramaphosa.
“The strikes must be stopped immediately and unconditionally,” he added.
Russia fired at least 70 missiles and 145 drones at Ukraine between late Wednesday and early Thursday, the main target being Kyiv, the Ukrainian air force said.
Of the 215 projectiles, 112 were “confirmed to have been shot down”, it wrote on Telegram. — NNN-AGENCIES