At least six people have been killed and 21 wounded after a wave of Russian drone and missile strikes across Ukrainian cities, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The attacks, which included strikes on the capital, Kyiv, took place overnight and prompted extended air-raid warnings and emergency responses.
Kyiv experienced some of the heaviest activity, with explosions heard through the night and rescue crews battling fires in residential blocks by morning. Officials reported that a drone strike on a high-rise building killed a couple in their 60s. Four other fatalities were recorded elsewhere in the Kyiv region, among them a woman, a six-month-old baby and a girl aged 12.
Authorities said that much of the damage was to housing and local infrastructure. Across Ukraine, energy facilities were again targeted, prompting emergency power cuts in a number of areas.
Ukraine's military said it struck a chemical plant in the Bryansk border region late on Tuesday, using Storm Shadow missiles supplied by the UK. Military spokespeople described the operation as "a successful hit" and said the strike had penetrated Russia's air defences.
Officials asserted the facility's role in weapons production, stating that the plant "produces gunpowder, explosives and rocket fuel components used in ammunition and missiles employed by the enemy to shell the territory of Ukraine".
The strikes come amid stalled plans for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin. Mr Trump announced he had shelved proposals for a summit in Budapest, saying he did not want a "wasted meeting".
European leaders have discussed proposals for a ceasefire along current front lines, but the Kremlin has rejected calls to halt fighting on those terms.
President Zelensky returned from talks in Washington last week and has since pursued additional defence support. He said efforts to secure long-range weapons had not succeeded, and warned of the consequences.
He said: "As soon as the issue of long-range missiles became a little further away for us, for Ukraine, then almost automatically Russia became less interested in diplomacy."
Zelensky was due to visit the Swedish defence company Saab on Wednesday as part of ongoing efforts to bolster Ukraine's capabilities.