Ukrainian capital under Russian attack, air defences in operation

Russian drones struck several districts early on Saturday in a massive attack on the Ukrainian capital with air defence units in operation, officials said.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said there had been strikes in two districts on either side of the Dnipro River bisecting the capital.

“Kyiv is under a massive enemy attack,” Klitschko wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the capital’s military administration, also reported strikes in at least three districts, sparking fires in at least two locations.

He said drones were attacking the city and there was a threat Russian missiles could be deployed.

Russian attack on Odesa region damages energy, gas infrastructure, governor says

In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said Russian drones had attacked several districts, injuring 11 people. Drones had struck at least three residential buildings, he said on Telegram.

The attacks occurred after negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States completed the first of two days of talks in the United Arab Emirates devoted to working towards a resolution of the nearly four-year-old war.