Putin ‘not preparing for peace,’ Zelenskyy says after deadly ballistic missile strike

(LONDON) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine called on Western partners to apply more pressure to Russia after an overnight ballistic missile and drone strike killed at least one person and set multiple fires in the capital Kyiv.

“Apartment buildings, office buildings and civilian infrastructure were damaged,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. “All our services are working on the ground, helping people and eliminating the consequences of this terror.”

“Unfortunately, as of now, one person has died in Kyiv,” he added. “Four more were injured, including a child. My condolences to the family and friends.”

Ukraine’s air force reported downing six out of seven ballistic missiles fired at Kyiv and the central city of Kryvyi Rih — Zelenskyy’s home town. The air force said Russia also launched 123 strike drones into Ukraine, of which 71 were shot down and 40 were lost in flight.

Viacheslav Chaus, the governor of Ukraine’s Chernihiv Oblast, said two people were injured in a Russian drone strike on a critical infrastructure facility. Serhiy Lysak, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, said the missile attack on Kryvyi Rih damaged infrastructure, high-rise residential, administrative and educational buildings.

Zelenskyy called on Western partners to apply greater pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin in response to the latest round of strikes, which came as both sides maneuver for an expected revival in peace talks after almost three years of full-scale war.

“This Russian terror against Ukraine will not stop on its own,” Zelenskyy wrote. “Putin is not preparing for peace — he continues to kill Ukrainians and destroy cities.”

“Only strong steps and pressure on Russia can stop this terror,” the Ukrainian leader said. “Right now, we need unity and support from all our partners in the fight for a just end to this war.”

The latest barrage came only hours after Steve Witkoff — President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy — flew to Moscow to facilitate the release of jailed American Mark Fogel. Fogel, 63, had been serving a 14-year prison sentence in a Russian prison colony after being arrested in 2021 on drug charges.

Trump later told reporters he thought Fogel’s return could advance negotiations to end Russia’s war on Ukraine. “I want to get the war ended,” Trump said.

Moscow has continued nightly drone and missile attacks ahead of potentially pivotal meetings between U.S. and Ukrainian officials this week.

Trump’s Russia-Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg is due in Ukraine this week, while Vice President JD Vance is set to travel to the Munich Security Conference next weekend where Zelenskyy will lead Ukraine’s delegation.

Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Counter-Disinformation Center operating as part of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said on Telegram that “every public statement by the West about ‘progress’ in the movement towards peace is accompanied by missile strikes by the Russian Federation.”

Kovalenko suggested Putin would continue to employ such tactics through 2025. “These are methods of diplomacy that are closely intertwined with the front,” he wrote.

Ukraine is also continuing its long-range strike campaign into Russia. The Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Telegram on Wednesday that it downed seven Ukrainian drones over the western Belgorod and Kursk regions during the previous 24 hours.

ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Max Uzol contributed to this report.

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