Story by Rebecca Robinson, Will Stewart
NATO war planes were forced to scramble overnight as Russia hit Kyiv with brutal missile and drone strikes. At least two people were killed and seven wounded, signalling the end of a three-day ceasefire coinciding with US peace negotiators visiting Kyiv.
Vladimir Putin’s pounding of the Ukrainian capital cast doubt on startling claims by the Donald Trump envoys who told Volodymyr Zelensky that the Kremlin dictator was “ready to negotiate” and was “ready to discuss” ideas to jumpstart peace talks.
Polish Air Force Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet plane flying. Aviation and military aircraft.© Getty
Russia staged new strikes involving drones, followed by fearsome Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers, which targeted civilians.
The upper floors of a 26-storey tower block in Holosiivskyi district were hit, and ten residents were trapped in a five-story building in Solomianskyi.
A major fire also ignited at the Tetra Pak multinational food packaging and processing factory in northern Kyiv following overnight Russian Iskander-M/Kn-23 ballistic missile strikes.
Russia claimed it hit stores of cruise missiles and drones in Kyiv and the Kyiv region, and hit Chornomorsk port.
Mr Zelensky said: “The attack was complex, and the Russians deliberately planned it to cause as much damage as possible to people’s lives, using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, and Shahed drones.
Kyiv strike© East2west News
“There is significant damage to residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure in the capital.”
As a result, NATO ally Poland scrambled fighter jets in a “preventive” measure due to the powerful strikes in neighbouring Ukraine.
The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said: “Due to the activity of long-range Russian air forces conducting strikes on Ukrainian territory, military aviation has begun operating in Polish airspace.
“Ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have reached a state of readiness.
“These operations are preventative in nature and are aimed at securing and protecting airspace, particularly in areas adjacent to the threatened areas.”
