Blast series in Kyiv hours before Ukraine-Russia talks
text_fields
Kyiv: Hours before scheduled talks between Russia and Ukraine, the continuation of Monday's talks, a series of blasts shook residential districts in Kyiv, Ukraine capital, Agence France-Presse reported.
A minimum of three blasts were heard from the city's central area, and heavy smoke was witnessed during the early hours of Tuesday.
As dawn broke, the damage became clear, with one strike hitting a large 16-storey housing block.
A large 16 storey housing block was found hit after the morning light arrived. The dilapidated building hosted fire, and the surroundings were covered with debris. Ukraine emergency service informed that they had recovered two bodies while rescuing 27 people.
In Podolsk, a building sustained an attack. A photo posted by Ukraine MP Lesia Vasylenko features a bellowing fire being extinguished by a fire crew. Vasylenkos said the district was a pleasant place to have coffee and enjoy life but now in ruins.
Hours before the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky talked in a video address, with an optimistic note, that Russia was being realised that they would never win on the battlefield.
They have started realising that they will never achieve anything by war.
About the talks between the two so far, Russia is adamant that Ukraine should stop siding with the West and must recognise the two regions where separatists call for independence. Ukraine envoys have said that they want peace, an immediate ceasefire, and Russian troops leave the country.
It has been nearly three weeks since Russian troops started their offensive into Ukraine. They had opened a severe attack on cities while their way to Kyiv, and now the capital is surrounded by them. The United Nations had estimated that 2.8 million people have left Ukraine and has recorded 636 civilian deaths. Casualties include children, and the original toll could be much higher.