Ukraine, Russia trade strikes after Witkoff talks

Russia and Ukraine traded major attacks overnight, authorities from both countries said on Thursday, shortly after US envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.

Missiles struck Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday, wounding at least 15 people, eight of whom have been hospitalized, city authorities said.

The subway infrastructure on the Southern Bridge over the Dnipro river in Kyiv was also damaged, Mayor ⁠Vitali ​Klitschko ​said ​on Telegram.

Another Russian strike killed a woman and injured four others in the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine, regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram. A drone also hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure in the Poltava region, local authorities said without providing more details.

Meanwhile, Moscow's mayor said that 630 drones were launched towards the region overnight, wounding at least two people.

"Most of them were destroyed by air defense systems," Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on social media. Of these, 163 drones had been approaching the capital city, he added. 

In western Russia's Lipetsk city, a man was injured as drones hit apartment buildings and a medical facility, Governor Igor Artamonov said on Telegram.

Strikes after US attempts mediation

The latest round of strikes came after US special envoy Witkoff held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Norway earlier this week, followed by talks with Putin in Russia on Wednesday.

The Trump administration has attempted to mediate between the two sides to end the conflict that began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

US aims for new round of Russia-Ukraine negotiations

Putin agreed "in principle" to resume US-mediated peace talks with Kyiv as soon as next month. Zelenskyy, too, said on Wednesday that Ukraine supported a US proposal for trilateral talks at the negotiators level to be held as soon as possible.

It was "the closest we've been" to ending the war, US President Donald Trump claimed after Witkoff's meeting with Putin. However, that did not stop the neighboring nations from keeping up a barrage of attacks. 

Edited by: Zac Crellin

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