Fresh Russian barrage wounds 23 in multiple Ukrainian cities

KYIV: Russian strikes in multiple Ukraine cities wounded 23 people including a child, officials said Thursday, ahead of talks between Ukrainian and US negotiators in Geneva aimed at ending Moscow’s war.

Washington is pushing to bring an end to the conflict triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago, which has left hundreds of thousands dead, displaced millions and destroyed swathes of territory, particularly in eastern and southern Ukraine, which border Russia.

The Ukrainian air force reported high-speed targets heading toward the capital shortly before Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said Russia was striking the city with drones and ballistic missiles.

“Air defence is operating. Stay in shelters until the alert is cleared!” he wrote on Telegram, early Thursday.

Kyiv police said debris sparked fires and damage in three districts, including a blaze in non-residential buildings, a smashed balcony window in a high-rise and a fire at a two?storey house.

No casualties were reported, and emergency crews and investigators worked through the morning to secure the sites and document the damage.

The bombardment extended well beyond the capital.

In the northeast city of Kharkiv and a nearby village, 14 people were wounded, among them a seven?year?old boy, regional chief Oleg Synegubov said.

Towards the south, Zaporizhzhia also came under heavy fire. Regional head Ivan Fedorov said seven people were wounded, after strikes damaged 19 apartment blocks, four houses and other buildings.

In Kryvyi Rig in the Dnipropetrovsk region, two people were wounded, according to Dnipropetrovsk region chief Oleksandr Ganzha.

The overnight strikes prompted Poland to scramble fighter jets, it said on X.

The latest barrage came hours before Ukrainian negotiators meet US envoys in Geneva, part of a renewed effort to revive stalled talks before a planned trilateral round with Russia in early March.