A barrage of at least 22 Russian missiles targeted Ukraine overnight, with at least one striking the capital, Kyiv, in what the Ukrainian minister of energy called a “massive” attack on energy infrastructure.
Russia also fired overnight at least 460 drones, several of which flew into either Moldova or Romania, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said early on Tuesday.
“That is why all partners must not forget that every day lives need to be saved,” Zelenskyy said on social media. “Weapons and air defense are important, just as important is the sanction pressure on the aggressor.
Six people were killed and another 13 were injured in Ukraine, Zelenskyy said. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko earlier said two people were killed and seven others were injured.
The missile-and-drone attack followed negotiations in Switzerland over the weekend on a United States-proposed Russia-Ukraine peace plan. The strike also followed a secret meeting on Monday between U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and a Russian delegation in Abu Dhabi, a U.S. official told ABC News.
“Last night, Russia launched another attack – at a time when Ukraine, together with America, Europe, and many others around the world, are working virtually around the clock to stop the bloodshed,” Zelenskyy said on social media.
Residents of the Ukrainian capital were urged to take shelter as air-raid alerts blared.
“And so this night we spend in bombshelters, listening how the missiles rain down on Kyiv,” Kira Rudik, a member of Ukrainian parliament, said on social media. “This is russia’s response to peace negotiations.”
Some areas were experiencing disruptions to power and water, the Klitschko said. A residential building in one area of the city was on fire after debris hit it, he said.
“The enemy attack on Kyiv is ongoing,” Klitschko said in a post to Telegram early Tuesday local time.
Military officials in Ukraine said 438 drones and 14 missiles were destroyed or otherwise didn’t hit their targets. Missile hits and 26 strike drones were recorded impacting across 15 locations, with falling debris reported at 12 locations.
Zelenskyy said Monday said negotiators were were working toward peace “as quickly as possible.” Though he warned Ukrainians that “Russia will not ease its pressure on Ukraine.”
“In these days and weeks, it is essential to take air raid alerts and all similar strike threats very seriously,” he said on X. “We clearly understand whom we are dealing with, and all necessary orders have been issued within the Air Force and across all other components of Ukraine’s Defense and Security Forces. We will react.”
The strikes on Kyiv come a day after Russia launched over 160 drones into the country, Ukraine’s air force said.
Air defenses shot down or suppressed 125 drones, the air force said, with 37 craft impacting across 15 locations. At least four people were killed in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv in the attack, the local mayor said.
Officials in Moldova said in a statement that seven Russian drones entered their airspace overnight into Tuesday morning.
Another two entered Romania, which is a NATO member, officials there said. In Romania, two German Typhoons and two Romanian F-16s were scrambled.
It was not immediately clear if the drones were Shahed-style attack drones.
Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs, decried the drone intrusions, saying on social media that they amounted to “yet another reminder that Russian aggression directly threatens not only Ukraine but also other European nations and the transatlantic community as a whole.”
“We stand in solidarity with our Odesa Triangle partners, Romania and Moldova, and condemn these reckless Russian actions,” he added.
ABC News’ David Brennan and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
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