Zelenskyy: Attack on Kyiv shows Russia does not want peace

(Patria) - An intense Russian attack on Kyiv overnight shows Moscow "does not want peace", Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday, the BBC reported.

Zelenskyy made these comments on his way to Florida, where he will meet with US President Donald Trump today to discuss a new twenty-point peace plan agreed upon by American and Ukrainian envoys.

A ten-hour barrage of missiles and drones targeting the Ukrainian capital killed two people and injured 32, local authorities said.

Damage to energy infrastructure left forty percent of residential buildings in Kyiv and surrounding districts without heating, according to Ukrainian Development Minister Oleksiy Kuleba.

The Russian Defence Ministry said long-range precision weapons were used to target energy facilities, which it claims are used "in the interests of the Ukrainian armed forces and enterprises of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex".

Writing on Telegram, Zelenskyy said Russia had directed nearly 500 drones and 40 missiles towards Kyiv, targeting energy and civilian infrastructure.

The apartment building of BBC journalist Anastasiya Gribanova was hit, leaving some apartments on the upper floors of the high-rise in flames. Gribanova, who was in the building's elevator at the time, was not injured.

The Ukrainian State Emergency Service said 68 people were evacuated from a retirement home in the eastern Darnytskyi district.

"Russian representatives hold long talks, but in reality, Kinzhals (missiles) and Shaheds (drones) speak on their behalf," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want the war to end.

"This sick activity can only be countered with truly strong steps. America has this opportunity, Europe has this opportunity, many of our partners have this opportunity," he wrote, calling on allies to show strength against Russian aggression.

During the attack, Poland, which shares a 530 km long border with western Ukraine, prepared its fighter jets, ground-based air defence systems and radar reconnaissance.
Later on Saturday morning, it was concluded that there had been no violation of the country's airspace.
The Russian Defence Ministry said air defence systems intercepted and destroyed nearly 200 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions, including eight over Moscow.

Zelenskyy briefly met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Saturday, before his meeting with Trump in Florida.

Speaking in Nova Scotia, Zelenskyy said the latest bombing of Kyiv was "Russia's response to our peace efforts and it truly shows that Putin does not want peace".
Carney pledged 2.5 billion Canadian dollars in economic aid to Ukraine, but agreed that a "lasting peace" would require a "ready Russia".

Zelenskyy then spoke with European leaders about diplomatic "priorities" before the meeting with Trump, adding that "strong positions are needed" to move forward with the plan.

Security guarantees and territorial concessions for Ukraine are likely to return to the negotiating table, issues on which Russia has previously been unwilling to compromise.

Also on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a command and control centre overseeing the war, according to Russian news agency TASS.

Wearing a military uniform, Putin said that if Kyiv does not want to resolve the conflict peacefully, Russia will achieve its goals militarily, according to comments in state media.

The new twenty-point draft is a revised version of an earlier 28-point plan drawn up by US special envoy Steve Witkoff, but is widely considered too favourable to Russia.

Zelenskyy expressed optimism about the new draft, describing it as a "fundamental document on ending the war", but Trump told Politico in an interview that Zelenskyy "has nothing until I approve it".

The draft reportedly includes security guarantees from the US, NATO and European allies for a coordinated military response if Russia attacks Ukraine again.

Control of eastern Donbas in Ukraine has so far been a sticking point in negotiations, but now Zelenskyy has said a "free economic zone" could be an option.

Trump told Politico he expects to see the new draft on Sunday.

"I think it will go well with him. I think it will go well with (Vladimir) Putin," Trump said in the interview, adding that he expects to speak with the Russian president "soon".