Russian attacks kill two in Kyiv as diplomatic efforts to end war gain momentum

Rescuers search for victims after a drone hit a residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

Russian drone and missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital killed at least two people in the early hours of Saturday, officials in Kyiv said.

The attacks came just before a second round of peace negotiations was set to begin, as a renewed US-led push to end the war gathers steam.

Writing on its official Telegram channel, the Kyiv City Military Administration said two people were killed in the strikes.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 15 people were wounded, noting that falling debris from intercepted Russian drones hit residential buildings. He also said the western part of Kyiv had lost power.

Firefighters put out a blaze after a drone hit a residential building in Kyiv (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

The latest assault on Kyiv came as Ukrainian peace negotiators are due to meet their US counterparts in America this weekend, according to an official in Ukraine’s presidential administration.

A US delegation is then expected to travel to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the second half of next week.

US President Donald Trump last week released a plan for ending the nearly four-year war.

The 28-point proposal heavily favoured Russia, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to quickly engage with American negotiators.

European leaders, fearing for their own future facing Russian aggression, scrambled to steer the negotiations towards accommodating their concerns.

A rescuer searches for victims after a drone hit a residential building in Kyiv (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

Mr Trump said on Tuesday that his plan to end the war had been “fine-tuned” and that he is sending envoy Steve Witkoff to Russia to meet Mr Putin and army secretary Dan Driscoll to meet Ukrainian officials.

He suggested he could eventually meet Mr Putin and Mr Zelenskyy, but not until further progress has been made in negotiations.

Mr Zelenskyy announced on Friday the resignation of his powerful chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, who was also the country’s lead negotiator in the talks with the US, after Mr Yermak’s residence was searched by anti-corruption investigators.

The unprecedented search at the heart of Ukraine’s government was a blow for the Ukrainian leader that risked disrupting his negotiating strategy at a time when Kyiv is under intense US pressure to sign a peace deal.