Russian drones, missiles pound Ukraine ahead of Zelenskyy-Trump meeting
Rescuers work on the scene of a multi-storey apartment building damaged during a Russian massive missile and drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Russia attacked Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine with hundreds of missiles and drones on Saturday, ahead of what Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said would be a crucial meeting with US president Donald Trump to work out a plan to end nearly four years of war.
Mr Zelenskyy cast the vast overnight attack, which he said involved about 500 drones and 40 missiles and which knocked out power and heat in parts of the capital, as Russia's response to the ongoing peace efforts brokered by Washington.
The Ukrainian leader has said Sunday's talks in Florida would focus on security guarantees and territorial control once fighting ends in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two, started by Russia's 2022 invasion of its smaller neighbour.
The attack continued throughout the morning, and a nearly 10-hour air raid alert for the capital only ended at 11:20 a.m. (0920 GMT). Authorities said two people were killed in Kyiv and the surrounding region, while at least 46 people were wounded, including two children.
"Today, Russia demonstrated how it responds to peaceful negotiations between Ukraine and the United States to end Russia's war against Ukraine," Mr Zelenskyy told reporters.
Russia made no immediate comment on the attacks.
Explosions echoed across Kyiv from the early hours on Saturday as Ukraine's air defence units went into action. The air force said Russian drones were targeting the capital and regions in the northeast and south.
State grid operator Ukrenergo said energy facilities across Ukraine were struck by Russia, and emergency power cuts had been implemented across the capital.
Ukraine's foreign minister said a third of Kyiv was left without heat by the strikes as temperatures hovered around 0C on Saturday morning.
Ukraine's prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said about 600,000 households in Kyiv and the surrounding region had lost power.
The strikes also prompted the temporary closure of Rzeszow and Lublin airports in southeastern Poland, to the west of Ukraine, although they were later reopened.
Mr Zelenskyy told reporters via audio message that he was travelling by plane to meet Mr Trump in Florida, and that he would first stop in Canada to meet Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, and hold a call with European leaders.
Territory and the future of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant remain the main diplomatic stumbling blocks, though Mr Zelenskyy told journalists in Kyiv on Friday that a 20-point draft document is 90% complete.
Mr Zelenskyy said the shape of US security guarantees was crucial, and these would depend on MrTrump, and "what he is ready to give, when he is ready to give it, and for how long."
He told Axios earlier this week that the US had offered a 15-year deal on security guarantees, subject to renewal, but Kyiv wanted a longer agreement with legally binding provisions to guard against further Russian aggression.
Mr Trump said the United States was the driving force behind the process.
"He doesn't have anything until I approve it," Mr Trump told Politico. "So we'll see what he's got."
Mr Zelenskyy told reporters that Ukraine and the United States had a "common vision" for co-operation on Ukraine's post-war recovery, which involved the creation of several investment funds.
Mr Trump said he believed Sunday's meeting would go well. He also said he expected to speak with Vladimir Putin "soon, as much as I want."
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