Russian Attack on Kyiv Kills 8, Ukrainian Officials Say

Russia launched a huge attack on Kyiv early Thursday, killing at least eight people and injuring more than 60 others in the Ukrainian capital just hours after the Trump administration again lashed out at President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and threatened to abandon peace talks.

The assault was the deadliest on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, since last summer. Explosions could be heard throughout the night; clouds of brown smoke rose over the city as the sun came up.

One missile hit a two-story building with eight apartments where emergency workers hunted for survivors Thursday morning. A five-story building next door lost all of its windows. People stood outside, staring at the damage and talking on their phones, telling loved ones that they were alive. No military target was visible nearby.

Mr. Zelensky said that nearly 70 missiles, including ballistic ones, and about 150 attack drones had targeted cities across the country — although Kyiv was the hardest hit.

“It is extremely important that everyone around the world sees and understands what is really happening,” he wrote in a social media post, adding that he would cut short a visit to South Africa and return to Ukraine after meeting the South African president.

The attack came hours after President Trump and his top aides demanded that Kyiv accept an American-designed plan that would seemingly grant Russia all of the territory it has gained in the war, which started with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The plan also offers Kyiv only vague assurances about the country’s future security. So far, Mr. Zelensky has said Ukraine cannot accept such a deal.