Entire residential buildings were demolished in Ukraine’s capital as Russia launched a “massive and virtually nonstop” aerial barrage on Kyiv and other major cities over the last two nights, according to Ukrainian officials. They said more than 1,500 drones and over 50 missiles were launched in the last two days.
At least seven people were killed in Kyiv, many in a strike that leveled an apartment building overnight, while 20 more remain missing, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy said he had met with his top staff on Thursday about “a massive and virtually nonstop Russian attack that lasted nearly 48 hours.”
“This is a deliberate terrorist tactic by the Russians, who amassed drones and missiles over a period of time and intentionally calculated the strike so that its scale would be significant, creating the greatest possible difficulties for our air defense,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
He said 20 locations were attacked in the capital in all, including locations such as the residential building, a school and veterinary clinic.
State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Handout via Getty Images
Zelenskyy said 94% of drones were intercepted, but only 73% of the missiles were shot down, and cited the need to improve in that regard.
Other cities coming under fire over the last two days included Odesa, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk and Kharkiv.
Ivan Antypenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images 
Zelenskyy accused Russia of stockpiling the weapons for the attack to coincide with President Trump’s visit to China.
“It certainly cannot be called a coincidence that one of the longest massive Russian attacks against Ukraine takes place precisely at the time when the President of the United States arrived for a visit to China — a visit from which much is expected,” he said.
The Ukrainian president added, “In this difficult geopolitical moment, Russia is clearly trying to disrupt the overall political atmosphere and draw attention to its evil — seeking to do so at the expense of Ukrainian lives and Ukrainian infrastructure.”
Ivan Antypenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images 
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday answered questions from reporters following a Victory Day parade, and made headlines for saying he thought the war may be nearing its close after more than four years.
“I think the matter is coming to an end, but it’s still a serious matter,” he told reporters in remarks translated from Russian.
Mr. Trump was asked about Putin’s comments when leaving for China on Tuesday, and he delivered an optimistic response.
“The end of the war in Ukraine, I really think it’s getting close,” he told reporters on the White House’s South Lawn.
Zelenskyy has said the actions of Putin do not show he believes the end of the war is coming.
“Russia itself chose to end the partial silence that had lasted for several days,” Zelenskyy wrote on Tuesday, referring to a pause in the fighting for Victory Day, a celebration of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. “Russia must end this war, and it is Russia that must take the step toward a real, lasting ceasefire.”
As part of a summit in Bucharest, Zelenskyy met with the leaders of several European countries on Wednesday — including Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Romanian President Nicușor Dan, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs, Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda — about steps toward ending the war.
[/gpt3]
