Unlock the free White House Watch newsletter
Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world
Russia has launched a major drone and missile attack on Kiev, raising new doubts about the possibility of an early end to the war as Volodymyr Zelensky prepares for a key meeting with Donald Trump on Sunday.
“Today, Russia showed how it reacts to peaceful negotiations between Ukraine and the United States regarding ending Russia’s war against Ukraine,” Zelensky told reporters on Saturday.
Russian drones and ballistic missiles attacked Kiev in an overnight attack that lasted until late morning. The Ukrainian capital was rocked by explosions for several hours as air defense forces began firing on incoming projectiles.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 519 drones and 40 missiles. City officials said one person was killed and 32 were injured, while about a third of the capital was left temporarily without heating.
The footage showed one drone detonating an apartment building and another being seen in the Kyiv area. By Saturday morning, fires had broken out at many places.
During his meeting with the US President in Florida on Sunday, Zelensky will try to detail the 20-point peace plan developed with the US, which is to be presented to Russia.
But on Friday, Trump made it clear that his support for the 20-point plan is not guaranteed. “Zelensky doesn’t have a say in anything unless I approve it,” Trump told Politico. “We’ll see what he has… I think it’s going to be good with him. I think it’s going to be good with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.”
The White House said the presidents will meet Sunday afternoon in Palm Beach, where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club is located.
Zelensky said earlier this week that the draft of the plan as well as other related documents “largely reflect the joint Ukrainian-American position”, but he acknowledged that there were some issues related to possible concessions, security guarantees and elections.
On Saturday he said he was hoping to discuss a “plan of sequential actions” with Trump: “We want to propose step by step how all the plans I have already mentioned should actually work.”
The Ukrainian leader will first land in Halifax, Canada, to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and hold an online meeting with European leaders.
Responding to journalists’ questions on WhatsApp, Zelensky said the “red lines” for Kiev included recognition of Russian territorial seizures and the fate of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
Moscow has demanded that Ukraine hand over parts of the Donetsk region, known as Donbass, which was included in a 28-point US peace proposal unveiled in November.
Zelensky said this week that Ukraine could withdraw “massive forces” from the part of Donbass it controls if Russian forces also withdraw, but he refused to cede territory to Moscow.
Russia’s regular long-range attacks make it impossible to hold elections or a referendum on the peace plan, Zelensky said.
He told reporters, “Because this happens every day, because Russia attacks us every day – the skies must be safe, and security must be ensured throughout our territory, at least for the period of the elections or referendum.”
The Ukrainian president stressed that stronger security guarantees from the West remain Ukraine’s “most important consideration”, but whether it receives them “depends primarily on President Trump”.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Russia’s overnight attack.
“The meeting is about reducing risks, not expecting a breakthrough,” said Oleksandr Merezhko, head of Ukraine’s foreign affairs committee and a lawmaker from Zelensky’s party. “The next step is to present this peace plan to Putin, and predictably he will reject it… How Trump will respond to Putin’s rejection is the most important question.”
Trump told Politico that he would speak with Putin “sooner than I’d like.”
Additional reporting by Steph Chavez in New York
