KYIV — Russia launched a large overnight missile and drone assault on Ukraine early Saturday as U.S. and Ukrainian officials met for a third day of talks aimed at ending the nearly four-year war.
Ukraine’s air force reported that the strike involved 653 drones and 51 missiles, triggering air-raid alerts across the country on the day Ukraine observed Armed Forces Day. Ukrainian defenses said they shot down or neutralized 585 drones and 30 missiles; the air force reported strikes at 29 locations.
At least eight people were wounded, Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said, including at least three in the Kyiv region. Drone sightings were reported as far west as Lviv.
The national energy operator Ukrenergo described the assault as a massive missile-drone attack on power stations and energy infrastructure in several regions. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said energy facilities were primary targets and that a drone strike had burned down the Fastiv train station in the Kyiv region.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Russian air defenses shot down 116 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight. The pro-Russian Telegram channel Astra published video it said showed a fire at the Ryazan oil refinery after a Ukrainian strike; The Associated Press could not independently verify the footage. Ryazan regional governor Pavel Malkov reported a residential building damaged by a drone and debris falling on an industrial facility, without mentioning a refinery.
Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian refineries in recent months have aimed to cut Moscow’s oil export revenue that helps fund the war. Ukrainian officials and Western allies say Moscow is targeting Ukraine’s power grid to deprive civilians of heat, light and running water for a fourth winter, a tactic Kyiv calls weaponizing the cold.
The attacks came as U.S. and Ukrainian envoys continued diplomacy in Florida. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner met with Ukrainian negotiators Rustem Umerov and Andriy Hnatov for a second day Friday and planned a third day of talks on Saturday to discuss a security framework for a postwar Ukraine. Participants said progress had been made but stressed that any real breakthrough depends on Russia’s willingness to commit to a lasting peace.