Russia launched waves of ballistic missiles at Kyiv while Ukraine sent hundreds of drones towards Moscow on Thursday, as both sides intensified attacks despite renewed US efforts to end the war.
Ukraine said Russia fired at least 21 ballistic missiles at Kyiv in three waves, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying three carried cluster munitions, which disperse explosive devices over a wide area and pose significant risks to civilians.
Russia’s Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Moscow, meanwhile, said Ukraine launched 630 drones towards the Russian capital overnight.
The attacks came amid efforts by US President Donald Trump to revive negotiations, as disagreements between Washington and Kyiv continued over military support for Ukraine.
Trump said SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk had restored Ukraine’s access to the Starlink satellite communications system, which Ukrainian forces use for battlefield communications and drone operations.
However, Zelenskiy said the system’s speed had not been fully restored, while a person familiar with the matter said restrictions largely remained in place.
Trump declined to confirm whether he had personally contacted Musk to request the restoration of the service.
“I don’t want to comment on it, whether I called or whether somebody else called … The bottom line, he put it back,” Trump told reporters.
Zelenskiy said he hoped to discuss the matter with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The Starlink dispute is one of several issues that have strained relations between Washington and Kyiv in recent weeks.
Putin Signals Readiness for Talks
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was ready to resume US-mediated negotiations with Ukraine next month, following a meeting with US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff.
In an interview on Russian television, Putin said the talks should address the security of Russia, Ukraine and Europe after the conflict ends.
Witkoff had emphasised the need to discuss what he described as the “architecture of European security”, Putin said, adding that he agreed with the approach.
Zelenskiy said he hoped negotiations, which would be the first since February, could take place in early November.
However, uncertainty remains over the prospects for a breakthrough, with Moscow expressing reservations about proposals discussed during Witkoff’s recent meetings with Ukrainian and European officials in Oslo.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the United States had identified some new developments during the Oslo discussions but that they did not fully satisfy Moscow.
A senior Russian official briefed on the Putin-Witkoff meeting described the talks as relatively short and lacking substantive discussions.
Another source close to the Kremlin said US proposals included a scenario under which Ukraine would cede the Donbas region to Russia in exchange for security guarantees from NATO.
Moscow has repeatedly said any peace agreement must involve Ukraine surrendering additional territory, limiting the size of its armed forces and permanently abandoning plans to join military alliances.
Kyiv has rejected the conditions, describing them as demands for capitulation that would leave the country vulnerable.
Tensions Between Washington and Kyiv
Relations between Trump and Zelenskiy have deteriorated amid disagreements over US support for Ukraine and Washington’s approach to Moscow.
Trump has criticised Ukraine for attacking Russian oil refineries while offering limited public criticism of Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian territory. He has also called for Zelenskiy to be replaced.
Zelenskiy, who had largely avoided publicly criticising the Trump administration, has increasingly challenged what he sees as Washington’s shift towards Moscow.
On Thursday, he criticised Witkoff for describing Putin as a “humanitarian” after the US envoy thanked the Russian leader for securing the release of a 74-year-old American held by Russian forces in Ukraine.
“Three waves of ballistic missiles have been launched at Kyiv by Russian ‘humanitarians’ since yesterday evening,” Zelenskiy wrote on X, adding that several locations across the city had been hit and damaged.
Kyiv has accused Washington of withholding early-warning information on Russian missile launches, restricting access to Starlink for Ukrainian drone operations and withholding air defence systems purchased on Ukraine’s behalf by European countries.
The United States has denied changing its policies to undermine Ukrainian military operations.
The diplomatic tensions have also followed Trump’s announcement of a deal to purchase Russian diesel and his decision to lift sanctions on Moscow.
Casualties Reported Across Ukraine
Zelenskiy said overnight Russian attacks affected about a dozen Ukrainian regions, killing two people and injuring 34 others, including five children.
Regional officials reported that a Russian strike on a market in Lozova, near the northeastern city of Kharkiv, killed two people and injured 36.
Three people were killed in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, while another person died in the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region.
Russia said it had carried out a “massive strike” on port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region and on vessels used by the Ukrainian military.
In Russia, two people were injured by drones launched towards Moscow overnight, according to the capital’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin.
Sobyanin said most of the drones had been intercepted at long range.
The two countries also exchanged the bodies of fallen soldiers, with Russia handing over 252 bodies and Ukraine returning 25, according to Belarusian state news agency Belta. Such exchanges have accompanied diplomatic efforts in previous stages of the conflict.
