Russia launches 'massive' attack on Ukraine energy sites, conducts drone strike in Kyiv, claim Ukrainian Ministry, Mayor

Ukraine ministry on Tuesday stated that 'massive' attack on energy sites was underway. Russian drones swarmed on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Tuesday (local time), striking at least one residential building, officials said. Mayor Vitali Klitschko, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said a building had been hit in the Pechersk district in the city centre.

Pictures posted on unofficial channels showed parts of a building ablaze. Klitschko also reported disruptions to the city's power and water supplies.

The recent attack took place even as the United States of America pressed Ukraine to accept its proposals to end the war with Russia during talks in Geneva, a senior official told AFP, despite Kyiv's protests that the plan conceded too much to Moscow. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington did not directly threaten to cut off aid if Kyiv rejected its proposals, but that Ukraine understood this was a distinct possibility.


The US plan, originally made up of 28 points, would see Ukraine effectively cede its eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions to Russia and slash the size of its military -- demands that Kyiv has described as unacceptable.

While negotiators wrangled to find a way out of the war, early Tuesday, powerful explosions rocked Kyiv, and the air force warned of a countrywide threat of missiles.

In Switzerland on Sunday, Ukrainian, US and European officials met to draft an "updated" version of the plan to end the war, but the Kremlin responded Monday that it would not accept European amendments.

Although US pressure on Ukraine eased during the meeting in Geneva, "overall pressure" remained, a senior official briefed on the talks said.

The source said they did not understand why Washington was hurrying towards a deal, but that "everyone" was for an end to the war if there was a real opportunity to do so.

The White House pushed back on criticism that President Donald Trump was favouring Russia in his efforts to end the war.

"The idea that the United States of America is not engaging with both sides equally in this war to bring it to an end is a complete and total fallacy," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Kyiv and its European allies say the war, the largest and deadliest on European soil since World War II, is an unprovoked and illegal land grab that has resulted in a tidal wave of violence and destruction.

Tens of thousands of civilians and military personnel have been killed since the invasion began, while millions of Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes.