Russian drones, missiles pound Ukraine before Zelenskiy-Trump meeting
Dec 27 (Reuters) –
Russia attacked Kiev and other regions of Ukraine with missiles and drones on Saturday, ahead of what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said would be a key meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump to work out a deal to end nearly four years of war.
Before the overnight attacks, Zelenskyy said his talks in Florida on Sunday would focus on the territory to be controlled by each side after a halt to the fighting that began in February 2022 with President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Russia’s smaller neighbour, Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.
Explosions sounded in Kiev as Ukraine’s air defense units went into action, and the military said on the Telegram messaging app that missiles were being deployed. The air force said Russian drones were targeting the capital and regions in the northeast and south.
An air raid alert remained in effect in the capital some four hours after being introduced. There were no immediately reports of damage or power cuts.
CONTROLLING TERRITORY IS DIPLOMATIC STUMBLING BLOCK
Russia made no immediate comment on the attacks.
On Thursday night, Russia hit Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and stepped up attacks on the southern region of Odesa, the site of Ukraine’s main seaports.
Kiev:
Russia attacked Kiev and other regions of Ukraine with missiles and drones on Saturday, ahead of what President Volodymyr Zelensky said would be a key meeting with US President Donald Trump to work out a deal to end almost four years of war.
Before the overnight attacks, Zelensky said his talks in Florida on Sunday would focus on the territory to be controlled by each side following a halt to the fighting that began in February 2022 with President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Russia’s smaller neighbor, Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.
Explosions sounded in Kiev as Ukraine’s air defense units went into action, and the military said on the Telegram messaging app that missiles were being deployed. The air force said Russian drones were targeting the capital and regions in the northeast and south.
An air raid alert remaining in effect in the capital some four hours after being introduced. There were no immediate reports of damage or power cuts.
CONTROLLING TERRITORY IS DIPLOMACIST STUMBLING BLOCK
Russia made no immediate comment on the attacks.
On Thursday night,Russia hit Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and stepped up attacks on the southern region of Odesa, the site of Ukraine’s main seaports.
Amid the continued furious fighting, the territory remains the main diplomatic stumbling block. A 20-point draft in the U.S.-driven campaign to clinch a peace plan is 90% complete, Zelensky told journalists in Kyiv.
He said a security guarantee agreement between Ukraine and the U.S. was almost ready – a key element after guarantees in earlier post-Soviet years proved meaningless.
“A lot can be decided before the New Year,” Zelensky told Politico.
Trump said the United States was the driving force behind the process.
“He doesn’t have anything unless I approve it,” Trump told Politico. “So we’ll see what he’s got.”
Zelensky told Axios the U.S. Had offered a 15-year deal on security guarantees, subject to renewal, but Kiev wanted a longer agreement with legally binding provisions to guard against further Russian aggression.
Trump said he believed Sunday’s meeting would go well. He also said he expected to speak with Putin “soon, as much as I want.”
UCLEAR PLANT, FREE ECONOMIC ZONE ALSO AT ISSUE
In addition to territory, a critical point is control of the Zaporozhzhia nuclear power station, Europe’s largest, seized by Russia in the opening weeks of the war.
Moscow demands that Ukraine withdraw from the areas of the eastern region of Donetsk that Russian troops have failed to capture in their drive to secure all of the Donbas, which also includes the Luhansk region.
Kyiv wants the fighting halted at the current lines.
Under a U.S. Compromise, a free economic zone would be set up if Ukraine leaves parts of the Donetsk region, although details have yet to be worked out.
Axios quoted Zelensky as saying that if he is not able to push the U.S. To back Ukraine’s “strong” position on the land issue, he was willing to put the 20-point plan to a referendum – as long as Russia agrees to a 60-day ceasefire to allow Ukraine to prepare for and hold the vote.
He said he wanted more pressure applied to Russia.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Kiev’s version of the 20-point plan differed from what Russia had been discussing with the U.S., according to Interfax-Russia news agency.
But he expressed optimism that things had reached a “turning point” in the search for a settlement.
Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, spoke with members of the Trump administration after Moscow received U.S. proposals regarding a possible peace deal, the Kremlin said on Friday. It did not disclose how Moscow had viewed the documents.
The Ukrainian capital Kiev came under a massive Russian attack early on Saturday (December 27, 2025), with explosions sounding in the city, air defenses in operation and the Ukrainian military saying missiles were being deployed.
The Russian action took place two days before a meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is due to hold in the United States with President Donald Trump to work out details of an agreement for settling the nearly four-year-old war pitting Russia against Ukraine.
Several powerful explosions were heard across Ukraine’s capital on early Saturday after Russian missiles and drones targeted multiple regions, prompting officials to urge residents to take shelter as air defenses were activated.
“Explosions in the capital. Air defense forces are operating. Stay in shelters!” Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram, as air raid sirens sounded across the city, reported AFP.
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