KYIV – A barrage of missiles struck Kyiv early Saturday, injuring at least five people as Ukraine prepared for another round of negotiations involving Russia and the United States next week.
Russian, Ukrainian and American representatives are scheduled to meet Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, for discussions focused on ending the war. The meeting will be the fourth round of talks facilitated by the Trump administration, following negotiations held in Geneva in February.
Western nations supporting the diplomatic effort are searching for a way to overcome the deadlock, while recognizing that major disputes over territory and security guarantees remain unsettled.
Overnight missile strikes on the Ukrainian capital damaged residential buildings and businesses, forced the closure of a bridge across the Dnipro River and caused fresh interruptions to electricity and water services, according to national and municipal officials.
“The enemy’s overnight attack damaged energy infrastructure in the Kyiv and … Zhytomyr regions,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. “The capital’s energy situation is extremely challenging, with disruptions affecting heating and water systems across the city.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that the Northern Bridge was among the targets, describing it as a route used to move weapons, military vehicles and specialized equipment for Ukraine’s armed forces.
The ministry also reported strikes on a Kyiv industrial site that produces Flamingo missiles, along with a power plant, an electrical substation and a facility in the broader Kyiv region manufacturing ammunition, explosives and gunpowder. It said another substation in the Zhytomyr region was also hit.
Death toll reaches 55 after strike on aid center in Komyshuvakha
In southern Ukraine, rescue crews entered a sixth day of recovery work in Komyshuvakha, a front-line village devastated Monday when several Russian guided bombs struck a former school and a nearby shelter where residents had gathered to receive humanitarian assistance.
Emergency workers recovered nine additional bodies during the preceding 24 hours, raising the reported death toll to 55 by early Saturday. Dozens of people are still unaccounted for.
Mykola Krasnov, a 72-year-old resident, said he continued searching for his wife, though rescuers had provided no information about her whereabouts.
“She went to collect humanitarian aid, and a three-ton bomb hit the place. Where is she?” he said. “She never came home. They didn’t find her body there. She’s not in the morgue, and she isn’t here alive.”
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Komyshuvakha lies close to the front line in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.
Ukrainian strike kills one person in Russia’s Belgorod region
A drone strike on a private residence in the Russian town of Grayvoron killed one person in the Belgorod region, local officials said Saturday.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses destroyed 411 Ukrainian drones overnight across 10 Russian regions, including Belgorod. It said additional drones were intercepted over Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine, as well as the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
Roman Busargin, governor of Russia’s southwestern Saratov region, said on social media that a drone attack damaged “civilian infrastructure” and several apartment buildings. Russian media later reported that the Saratov Oil Refinery had been struck, publishing images showing smoke rising above the city.
Andrey Klychkov, governor of the Oryol region, said Saturday that a Ukrainian attack damaged commercial warehouses and production facilities in the regional capital, according to state media.
Russian news outlets also said the attack ignited a fire at Oryol’s Proton-Electrotex plant, a manufacturer of components used in military equipment.
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Associated Press reporter Vasilisa Stepanenko in Komyshuvakha, Ukraine, contributed to this report.
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