The Ukrainian leader had hoped to recruit further South African support in efforts to end his country’s war with Russia, now in its fourth year.
The attack on Kyiv came hours after peace negotiations appeared to stall, with President Donald Trump lashing out at Zelenskyy, saying he was prolonging the “killing field” by pushing back on ceding Crimea to Russia as part of a potential peace plan. Later that day, Trump said “it's been harder” to deal with Zelenskyy than with Russia.
Zelenskyy has said multiple times that recognizing occupied territory as Russian is a red line for his country.
The Kyiv City Military Administration said on its Telegram channel that Russia struck Kyiv with drones and ballistic missiles. At least 45 drones were detected, the administration said, adding that Ukraine’s Air Force would update the figures later.
At least 42 people were hospitalized in Kyiv, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said. Rescue operations were still underway early morning Thursday to find bodies under the rubble.
At a Kyiv residential building that was almost entirely destroyed, emergency workers removed rubble with their hands, rescuing a trapped woman who emerged from the wreckage covered in white dust and moaning in pain.
An elderly woman sat against a brick wall, face smeared with blood, her eyes fixed to the ground in shock as medics tended to her wounds.
Fires were reported in several residential buildings said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the city military administration.
The attack, which began around 1:00 a.m., hit at least five neighborhoods in Kyiv. In Sviatoshynkskyi district, a fire broke out in a residential building that was damaged in the attack.
The Associated Press saw rescue teams dig out people trapped under the rubble of the building and dead bodies being taken away.
Oksana Bilozir, a student, suffered a head injury in the attack. With blood seeping from her bandaged head, she said that she heard a loud explosion after the air alarm blared and began to grab her things to flee to a shelter when another blast caused her home's walls to crumble and the lights to go off.
“I honestly don't even know how this will all end, it's very scary,” said Bilozir, referring to the war against Russia's invasion. “I only believe that if we can stop them on the battlefield, then that's it. No diplomacy works here.”
More fires were reported in the Shevchenkivsky and Holosiivskyi districts.
Anastasiia Zhuravlova, 33, a mother of two, was sheltering in a basement after multiple blasts damaged her home. Her family was sleeping when the first explosion shattered their windows and sent kitchen appliances flying in the air. Shards of glass rained down on them as they rushed to take cover in the corridor.
“After that we came to the shelter because it was scary and dangerous at home,” she said.
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