Russia Hits Kyiv and Ukraine Sends Drones Toward Moscow as Peace Talks Loom

Russia struck Kyiv with ballistic missiles overnight while Ukraine sent hundreds of drones toward Moscow, even as both sides said talks could restart next month. Ukraine said Russia fired at least 21 ballistic missiles in three waves, while Russia said Ukraine launched 630 drones at the capital. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said two people were killed and 34 injured, including five children, in attacks across a dozen regions.

Russia also reported a massive strike on port infrastructure in Odesa and on vessels used by the Ukrainian military. Near Moscow, two people were wounded.The sides also exchanged war dead, with Moscow handing over 252 bodies and Ukraine 25.

Witkoff Putin Talks and What the US Proposed

Zelenskiy hopes negotiations, the first since February, will happen early in November. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the new nuances from US envoy Steve Witkoff’s Oslo talks do not entirely satisfy Moscow. A senior Russian official described the Putin meeting as short and not substantive, with Witkoff handing over proposals drafted in Oslo. Russia says it will not stop fighting unless Ukraine gives up more land, limits its forces and is barred from alliances, which Kyiv calls a demand for capitulation.

Zelenskiy Hits Back at Witkoff and Strain With Washington

Relations with Washington worsened this month after Donald Trump announced a Russian diesel purchase and lifted sanctions on Moscow. Kyiv says the US withheld early warning data on missile launches, throttled the SpaceX satellite system guiding its drones, and held back missile defence systems bought on its behalf by Europeans. Washington denies any deliberate shift. Zelenskiy fired back at Witkoff for calling Putin a humanitarian, pointing to the missiles fired at Kyiv. The war has lasted over four and a half years, with earlier talks in Istanbul, Abu Dhabi and Geneva producing no breakthrough.