2 January 2026

Russia Pummels Kyiv Before Trump-Zelensky Meeting

Cassandra Vinograd

Russia pounded the Ukrainian capital with waves of missiles and attack drones on Saturday, an hourslong assault that came the day before President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine’s scheduled meeting in Florida with President Trump to discuss a plan to end the war.

Two people were killed — one person in the suburbs of Kyiv and one in the city itself, according to the local authorities. At least 32 other people were wounded.

Mr. Zelensky said the attack made clear that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was not serious about peace talks.

“Russian representatives engage in lengthy talks, but in reality, Kinzhals and ‘shaheds’ speak for them,” he wrote on social media, using the names of ballistic missiles and attack drones. “This is the true attitude of Putin and his inner circle. They do not want to end the war and seek to use every opportunity to cause Ukraine even greater suffering.”

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