Russia targets Kyiv, Ukrainian cities with ballistic missiles as Moscow stalls on peace talks
Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Russia targeted Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with ballistic missiles in an overnight attack on Feb. 12.
The latest missile attack comes as Moscow refuses to commit to another round of peace talks proposed by the United States, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukraine's Air Force warned that Russian ballistic missiles were headed for Kyiv at around 2:20 a.m. local time. Shortly afterwards, Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground reported loud explosions in the capital, accompanied by instantaneous power outages.
Less than 30 minutes later, Russian Shahed-type drones attacked the city, Kyiv Independent journalists said.
The Air Force also warned that Russian missiles were targeting the cities of Dnipro and Pavlohrad in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that the ballistic missiles were targeting the city's infrastructure facilities. He also reported a preliminary hit on a home in the Darnytskyi district. Medics have been dispatched to the Dniprovskyi and Darnytskyi districts, he said.
Attacks are ongoing, and the full consequences of the strikes are not yet clear.
Throughout fall and winter, Russia has hammered Kyiv's critical infrastructure, leaving thousands of residents without access to electricity and heating amid freezing temperatures.
A state of emergency was declared in Kyiv on Jan. 14 due to the energy crisis brought on by Russian attacks.
Russia's assault on Ukraine's power grid has targeted not just Kyiv, but the entire country. A mass attack on Feb. 7 damaged facilities servicing Ukraine's nuclear power plants and damaged thermal power plants far from the front lines.
The strike marked Russia's worst attack on Ukraine's nuclear-connected substations throughout the full-scale war, and reduced the volume of electricity generated by the country's nuclear power by around 50%.
The attack also highlighted Moscow's dismissal of a U.S.-proposed energy ceasefire, discussed at the recent peace talks in Abu Dhabi.
"We haven't received any responses from the Russians regarding the energy ceasefire. On the contrary, we've received a response in the form of drone and missile attacks," Zelensky told journalists on Feb. 11.
"We were waiting for a response from the Russians. So far, as I understand it, Russia is hesitating," Zelensky said.
The president also confirmed that the U.S. has proposed another round of peace talks and that Ukraine immediately agreed to participate. Russia, however, has not responded.
"We were waiting for a response from the Russians. So far, as I understand it, Russia is hesitating," Zelensky said.
