LONDON — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine known as on Western companions to use extra stress to Russia after an in a single day ballistic missile and drone strike killed at the very least one individual and set a number of fires within the capital Kyiv.
“Condo buildings, workplace buildings and civilian infrastructure have been broken,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. “All our providers are engaged on the bottom, serving to folks and eliminating the results of this terror.”
“Sadly, as of now, one individual has died in Kyiv,” he added. “4 extra have been injured, together with a baby. My condolences to the household and pals.”
Ukraine’s air power reported downing six out of seven ballistic missiles fired at Kyiv and the central metropolis of Kryvyi Rih — Zelenskyy’s dwelling city. The air power mentioned Russia additionally launched 123 strike drones into Ukraine, of which 71 have been shot down and 40 have been misplaced in flight.
A broken workplace constructing is seen following a Russian drone and missile assault which killed one individual and injured others in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 12, 2025.
Alex Babenko/AP
Viacheslav Chaus, the governor of Ukraine’s Chernihiv Oblast, mentioned two folks have been injured in a Russian drone strike on a important infrastructure facility. Serhiy Lysak, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Army Administration, mentioned the missile assault on Kryvyi Rih broken infrastructure, high-rise residential, administrative and academic buildings.
Zelenskyy known as on Western companions to use larger stress on Russian President Vladimir Putin in response to the most recent spherical of strikes, which got here as each side maneuver for an anticipated revival in peace talks after nearly three years of full-scale battle.
“This Russian terror in opposition to Ukraine won’t cease by itself,” Zelenskyy wrote. “Putin is just not making ready for peace — he continues to kill Ukrainians and destroy cities.”
“Solely robust steps and stress on Russia can cease this terror,” the Ukrainian chief mentioned. “Proper now, we want unity and help from all our companions within the struggle for a simply finish to this battle.”
The most recent barrage got here solely hours after Steve Witkoff — President Donald Trump’s Center East envoy — flew to Moscow to facilitate the discharge of jailed American Mark Fogel. Fogel, 63, had been serving a 14-year jail sentence in a Russian jail colony after being arrested in 2021 on drug fees.
Trump later informed reporters he thought Fogel’s return might advance negotiations to finish Russia’s battle on Ukraine. “I wish to get the battle ended,” Trump mentioned.
Moscow has continued nightly drone and missile assaults forward of doubtless pivotal conferences between U.S. and Ukrainian officers this week.
This handout {photograph} launched by the Ukrainian Emergency Service reveals a Ukrainian rescuer working to extinguish a hearth on the web site of a drone and missile assault in Kyiv on Feb. 12, 2025.
Handout/UKRAINIAN EMERGENCY SERVICE/AFP
Trump’s Russia-Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg is due in Ukraine this week, whereas Vice President JD Vance is ready to journey to the Munich Safety Convention subsequent weekend the place Zelenskyy will lead Ukraine’s delegation.
Andriy Kovalenko, the top of the Counter-Disinformation Heart working as a part of Ukraine’s Nationwide Safety and Protection Council, mentioned on Telegram that “each public assertion by the West about ‘progress’ within the motion in direction of peace is accompanied by missile strikes by the Russian Federation.”
Kovalenko urged Putin would proceed to make use of such ways via 2025. “These are strategies of diplomacy which are carefully intertwined with the entrance,” he wrote.
Ukraine can be persevering with its long-range strike marketing campaign into Russia. The Protection Ministry in Moscow mentioned on Telegram on Wednesday that it downed seven Ukrainian drones over the western Belgorod and Kursk areas through the earlier 24 hours.
ABC Information’ Joe Simonetti and Max Uzol contributed to this report.