Russian strikes kill 14 in Kyiv amid failed peace talks

(AFP): Russia launched dozens of drones and missiles at Kyiv in the early hours of Tuesday, killing at least 14 people and wounding dozens of others, as negotiations faltered between Kyiv and Moscow.

President Volodymyr Zelensky described the latest overnight barrage as "one of the most horrific attacks" on Kyiv since the Kremlin launched its brutal invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.

Zelensky said a total of 440 drones and 32 missiles were launched in the strikes nationwide and urged the international community not to "turn a blind eye".

"Our families had a very difficult night. One of the biggest attacks from the very beginning of the war," Zelensky said at the G7 summit in Canada.

"We need support from our allies," he added.

AFP journalists saw smoke billowing over the capital's skyline at dawn and a multiple-storey housing block gutted by the attack. Rescue workers were scrambling to find any survivors buried beneath the rubble.

"It was probably the most hellish night in my memory for our neighbourhood," 20-year-old student Alina Shtompel told AFP.

"It is indescribably painful that our people are going through this right now."

More than three years into its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has stepped up attacks despite efforts by the United States to broker a ceasefire.

Talks have stalled. Moscow has rejected the "unconditional" truce demanded by Kyiv and its European allies, while Ukraine has dismissed Russia's demands as "ultimatums".

Zelensky had been hoping to speak with Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit, but the US leader cut short his visit, amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.

Russia hit some 27 sites in Kyiv overnight and some residents were left without electricity, officials said.

"The total number of dead is now 14 after the enemy attack on the capital last night," Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.

"The search and rescue operation continues," he added.

The Russian defence ministry said it had carried out precision strikes on "military-industrial facilities in the Kyiv region," in a statement similar to those releases after major attacks.

Germany vowed in response to "increase the pressure" on Russia. The strike showed that "Russia is using diplomacy merely as a facade," the foreign ministry wrote on X.

French President Emmanuel Macron accused his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of exploiting the international climate to carry out a deadly attack on Kyiv.

"It shows the complete cynicism of President Putin, who is using the international context to step again attacks against civilians," Macron told reporters in Canada.

Ukrainian cities are targeted by Russian air strikes almost daily. Kyiv has responded with attacks on Russian territory.

Four people were killed on Tuesday in drone strikes on Russia's border regions of Belgorod and Kursk, the regional governors said.

Dozens of residents took shelter in a metro station in central Kyiv, sleeping on mats, exchanging information on attack or reassuring pets, AFP journalists reported, while drones buzzed and explosions echoed out over the city.

"I was asleep. There was a loud bang. The window was smashed, and glass rained down on me," Sergii, a Kyiv resident, said.

Residential buildings, educational institutions and "critical infrastructure facilities" were all hit, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said.