Just a day before the meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky as diplomatic efforts continue to end the four-year-old war, a massive missile and drone attack came on the capital of Kiev last night, with multiple explosions reported in the Ukrainian capital and surrounding areas.
According to the Kyiv Independent, citing monitoring sources, the capital was hit by a massive ballistic missile attack, with Russia firing several Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, four Iskander ballistic missiles and several Kalibr cruise missiles at the city.
Several explosions were heard in the capital and surrounding Kyiv Oblast, the Kyiv Independent reported. In the town of Brovary, about 20 kilometers north-east of Kiev, the strikes caused power outages, affecting the town and surrounding areas.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko confirmed the attack in a post on Telegram and urged residents to stay in shelters. “There have been explosions in the capital. Air defense forces are working. Stay in shelters,” he wrote.
The Air Force of Ukraine also issued several emergency alerts, warning about the activity of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Kiev and surrounding areas.
According to the Air Force, UAVs (planetary aviation systems) were detected moving south over the city of Kiev, as well as over parts of the Kiev region, including the area near Velika Dmyrka and west of the village of Pereyaslavl.
Additional UAV activity has also been reported in the southern part of the Chernihiv region, moving towards Kyiv Oblast.
“Kiev, evacuate! There is an attack aviation unit (UAV) over the city,” the Air Force warned in an alert.
The attack on the Ukrainian capital came a day after the Ukrainian president confirmed his meeting in Florida on Sunday with US President Trump, who is acting as a mediator in peace talks to end the war.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Zelensky said the meeting could help bring negotiations closer to an agreement, CNN reported, although he cautioned that no final agreement should be expected immediately.
He further said that both sides will focus on resolving as many outstanding issues as possible.
Zelensky also said the 20-point peace plan proposed by US and Ukrainian officials is 90 percent ready and that talks with Trump will focus on long-term security guarantees for Ukraine and the role of its allies in ensuring post-war stability, CNN reported.
However, Trump said during an interview that any peace deal between Ukraine and Russia would require his approval, Politico reported.
“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it, so we’ll see what he has,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces were continuing to advance on front lines in southern Ukraine and carrying out several large-scale strikes on Ukrainian territory in response to Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets inside Russia.
According to the ministry’s statement on Telegram, units of the Vostok Group of Forces advanced deeper into Ukrainian defensive positions and captured the Kosovtsevo settlement in the Zaporizhia region after what it called “decisive actions.”
“Units of the Vostok group continued to advance into the depth of the enemy defense line and, as a result of decisive actions, liberated the Kosovtsevo settlement in the Zaporozhye region,” the statement said.
The Defense Ministry also said that between December 20 and December 26, Russian forces launched one “large-scale” and five “collective” attacks against targets in Ukraine.
According to reports, Kinjal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missiles were used in these attacks. It said the attacks were carried out in response to alleged Ukrainian “terrorist attacks” against civilian infrastructure in the Russian Federation.
According to the statement, the attacks targeted enterprises associated with Ukraine’s defense industry, energy facilities supplying energy to those enterprises, and transportation infrastructure, and further claimed that the attacks targeted the infrastructure of airports, ports, and depots allegedly used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The statement further said, “In response to terrorist attacks carried out by Ukraine on civilian facilities in the Russian Federation between 20 and 26 December 2025, the Russian Armed Forces conducted a mass and five group strikes, including Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missiles.”
“The attacks included Ukrainian defense industry enterprises, energy facilities providing them with employment, transport, airport, port and depot infrastructure used for the benefit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, assembly facilities, storage areas of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles, fuel and military equipment depots, as well as areas of temporary deployment of Ukrainian armed organizations and foreign mercenaries,” it said.
