Mohamed Madi
Reporting from Kyiv

Image source, Getty Images

What set last night’s attack apart was not necessarily the intensity, but the duration.

For almost 10 hours, drones and missiles came in waves, sending Kyiv’s residents into shelters in the night. The alert was not lifted in the capital until 11:00 this morning (09:00 GMT).

In that time, the sound of explosions echoed through the city.

We heard the whine of Shahed drones over the city centre, along with the attempts to shoot them down. Several times, we heard the deep rumble of an impact, and our windows shook.

Ballistic missile warnings continued to be issued through the early hours of the morning – unlike drones, they take minutes, not hours, to reach their target.

Overall, Ukraine says almost 500 drones and 40 missiles were launched towards Kyiv.

Many of them targeted Ukraine’s power infrastructure – and judging by the effects, some must have succeeded. This morning, a third of the capital was without power and heating, Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

It’s a message from Russia ahead of President Zelensky’s meeting with Trump tomorrow – that whenever it wants, across Ukraine, it can make the night hellish.

Image source, State Emergency Service of Ukraine via Reuters

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha says Russian President Vladimir Putin "deliberately ordered a massive bombing of residential areas and critical infrastructure" after Russia hit Kyiv with strikes overnight.

In a post on social media, Sybiha says the strikes left: "Dozens of victims, power outages, and a third of the Ukrainian capital without heating amid winter."

Temperatures in Kyiv today are expected to hover around 1C (33.8F), with the chance of light snow.

As we've been reporting, earlier President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia sent 500 drones as well as 40 missiles in the attack on Kyiv. The city's mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, said emergency power outage schedules are now in place while "4,000 residential buildings in the capital are without heat due to damage to the power supply system".

Ukraine's energy ministry says engineers are working to restore electricity supply for around 600,000 consumers.

"There are disruptions in water and heat supply in Kyiv. The city's life-support facilities have been switched to backup power," it adds.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's trip to the US for fresh talks come after the Ukrainian capital Kyiv was hit by a deadly overnight Russian attack.

Zelensky says the city was struck by 500 Russian drones and 40 missiles overnight, targeting energy and civilian infrastructure.

At least one person has been killed and 28 others were injured, Ukraine's State Emergency Service reports.

Thousands of buildings have had their power cut, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko says, and many are without heating, as temperatures plummet to below freezing.

Ukraine's State Emergency Service said that 68 people were evacuated from a retirement home in the eastern Darnytskyi district.

• Read more on the overnight strikes here

Both Ukrainian and Russian representatives have been speaking with US officials in recent days - here's the latest on their discussions:

Ukraine

Earlier this week, Zelensky said that a Thursday call - with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner - yielded "new ideas in terms of formats, meetings, and... timing on how to bring a real peace closer".

There appears to have been some progress in talks between the two countries, with Ukraine's president praising the "good ideas" put forward by Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Kushner.

Zelensky said there is still "work to be done on sensitive issues", but "together with the American team, we understand how to put all of this in place."

Russia

Meanwhile, the Kremlin has said it is studying a proposal brought back from the US by Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev after talks last weekend.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday: "We are examining this material, and depending on the decisions made by the head of state, we will continue our communication with the Americans."

Russia's state-affiliated outlet Tass reported that the Kremlin is unwilling to disclose many details about the proposed plan, reporting that Peskov declined to comment further when asked by Russian media.

It added that Peskov says the Kremlin continues "to believe that there should be a veil of secrecy here."

Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is on his way to Florida for a meeting with his US counterpart Donald Trump.

They'll meet on Sunday for peace talks on a possible pathway to end the war in Ukraine.

It comes after at least one person has been killed and 28 injured in overnight Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

The strikes damaged critical infrastructure - Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko says this morning that “4,000 residential buildings in the capital are without heat due to damage to the power supply system”.

Images from the Ukrainian capital show high rise buildings on fire and spotted with gaping holes, as emergency services work to clear the debris.

Zelensky writes that the offensive is evidence that Vladimir Putin’s teams “do not want to end the war and seek to use every opportunity to cause Ukraine even greater suffering”.

On his way to the US, Zelensky will stop off to meet Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. He's also set to call a number of key European allies later this afternoon.