At least nine people were killed in a sharp escalation of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday, as negotiators continued efforts to finalise revisions to a controversial US-backed peace proposal.
In Kyiv, city officials confirmed that six people died after Russia launched a heavy overnight barrage of missiles and drones targeting multiple districts of the capital. Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said four victims were recorded in the Svyatoshynsky district, while emergency responders reported two additional deaths following a strike on an apartment block in the Dniprovsky neighbourhood. Several others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed it intercepted 249 Ukrainian drones overnight, one of the highest figures it has announced since the war began.
Across the border, authorities in Russia’s Rostov region reported that three people were killed in what acting governor Yuri Sliusar described as a major Ukrainian attack. Officials in the Krasnodar region also noted extensive damage, calling the assault “one of the most sustained and massive attacks” launched by Kyiv in recent months.
The renewed wave of strikes comes as Ukraine and its allies review a revised version of a 28-point peace framework proposed by US President Donald Trump. The original plan — criticised for requiring Ukraine to cede territory and abandon NATO ambitions — has been reworked in Geneva to better reflect Ukraine’s sovereignty.
President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia is unlikely to soften its military pressure, describing the situation as a “critical moment”. Russia currently occupies roughly 20% of Ukrainian territory, with President Vladimir Putin threatening further advances if Kyiv withdraws from negotiations.
