Major Russian attack includes rare strikes on centre of Kyiv, killing at least 2

Russia launched a major air attack early Thursday on Kyiv that included a rare strike on the city center killing at least 21 people wounding 48 and damaging European Union diplomatic offices authorities saidThe bombardment of drones and missiles was the first major Russian attack on Kyiv in weeks as USled peace efforts to end the threeyear war struggled to gain traction Britain said the attack sabotaged peace efforts while top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas summoned Russias EU envoy to Brussels over the strikes that damaged EU officesThe UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on airstrikes against Ukraine on Friday afternoon at the request of Ukraine and the five European council members Britain France Slovenia Denmark and Greece Two of Ukraines top envoys were set to meet Friday with the Trump administration regarding mediationThe Kremlin said Russia remained interested in continuing peace talks despite Thursdays air attack which was one of the wars biggest since it began in 2022Among the dead were four children between 2 and 17 said Tymur Tkachenko the head of Kyivs city administration He said more people could still be under the rubble and search and rescue efforts continued on Thursday eveningRare attack on centre of KyivThe attack was one of the few times Russian drones and missiles have penetrated the heart of Kyiv since the start of the fullscale invasion Ukraines Air Force said Russia launched 598 strike drones and decoys and 31 missiles of different types across the country early Thursday most of them striking targets in KyivAt least 33 locations across all 10 of the citys districts were directly hit or damaged by debris Tkachenko said Thousands of windows shattered as nearly 100 buildings were damaged including a shopping mall in the city centreEU and UK summon Russian envoys after strikes hit their buildingsEuropean Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said two strikes landed 20 seconds apart about 50 meters 165 feet from the EU Mission to Ukraine building in Kyiv She said no staff were injured in the strike No diplomatic mission should ever be a target In response we are summoning the Russian envoy in Brussels Kaja Kallas the European Unions top diplomat said Thursday in a post on XThe British Council which promotes cultural relations and educational opportunities also said its Kyiv office had been severely damaged in the attack and was closed to visitors until further notice The organisation posted a photo showing the building with its windows and entrance smashed open and surrounded by glass and debris A guard was injured and is shaken but stable council chief executive Scott McDonald posted on XBritish Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Russian President Vladimir Putin was sabotaging hopes of peace following the senseless strikes The Russian ambassador to London was summoned to the foreign officeDiplomatic efforts to reach peace have stalledThursdays attack is the first major combined Russian mass drone and missile attack to strike Kyiv since US President Donald Trump met with Putin in Alaska earlier this month to discuss ending the war in UkraineRussia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X following the attack We expect a response from everyone in the world who has called for peace but now more often stays silent rather than taking principled positionsWhile a diplomatic push to end the war appeared to gain momentum shortly after that meeting few details have emerged about the next stepsWestern leaders have accused Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts and avoiding serious negotiations while Russian troops move deeper into Ukraine This week Ukrainian military leaders conceded Russian forces have broken into an eighth region of Ukraine seeking to capture more groundZelenskyy hopes for harsher US sanctions to cripple the Russian economy if Putin does not demonstrate seriousness about ending the war He reiterated those demands following Thursdays attackTrump bristled this week at Putins stalling on an American proposal for direct peace talks with Zelenskyy Trump said Friday he expects to decide on next steps in two weeks if direct talks arent scheduledWhite House press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized both Putin and Zelenskyy after the Thursday attack on Kyiv She said that Trump was not happy about this news but he was also not surprised by Russias Thursday air assault on the Ukrainian capitalRussia says it targeted militaryindustrial complexRussias Defence Ministry said it carried out a strike against military air bases and companies within Ukraines militaryindustrial complex using longrange weapons including Kinzhal missiles All designated objects were hit the ministry said in a statementThe Russian Defense Ministry also said it shot down 102 Ukrainian drones overnight mostly in the countrys southwest A drone attack sparked a blaze at the Afipsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region local officials said while a second fire was reported at the Novokuibyshevsk refinery in the Samara regionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever