Russia Hammers Kiev In Rare Daytime Attacks; Kremlin 'Appreciates' US G20 Invite
At a moment Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is still in New York City Thursday, attending meetings on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, his capital of Kiev has been rocked by fresh Russian strikes, which killed at least two people and wounded over 40 more. The attacks began in the daytime on Wednesday, and appear to have persisted into Thursday.
A missile alert first went out to city residents Wednesday, after which AFP journalists observed hearing over 20 blasts. "Explosions in Kyiv. The capital is under ballistic missile attack. Remain in shelters!" Mayor Vitaly Klitschko wrote on Telegram.
And Zelensky himself wrote: "Once again, the main targets of (the Russian) attack were Kyiv and civilian infrastructure – residential buildings, a maternity hospital, energy facilities and logistics. Two people are already known to have been killed."
On Wednesday in addressing the UN assembly, Zelensky warned Western partners that they must not let up the sanctions and isolation pressure on Putin, in order to starve Russia's military machine.
Zelensky on Thursday reiterated further on X that "Russia will not end this war without pressure. As people were sleeping, flashes from explosions lit up the sky. Once again, the main targets of their strike were Kyiv and civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, a maternity hospital, energy infrastructure, and logistics."
Other deadly overnight attacks occurred beyond the capital area. A Russian strike on a farm in Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region killed six people, local officials said.
Meanwhile efforts at getting the warring sides back to the peace table have still appeared stalled. But the Kremlin on Wednesday said it received an invitation from the United States for Putin to attend the December G20 summit in Miami.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow and Putin are "grateful for and appreciative of this invitation." He said, "We will make a decision and work through it via diplomatic channels."
Washington confirmed that indeed the invitation was extended, no doubt to the consternation of European officials. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has explained: "We've invited President Putin to the G20. We think it's an opportunity for him to engage not just with the president but with other world leaders. We hope that's an invitation he'll accept."
So far the Kremlin has signaled that Putin is unlikely to be in Miami. We wrote at the start of the week:
Both the Kremlin and the White House had recently signaled mutual openness to the idea of President Putin actually attending the G20 Miami Summit which is set for December 14-15. Some reports have recently expressed optimism that some kind of grand Ukraine peace deal could emerge from such an engagement.
However, Bloomberg has poured cold water on this, reporting Monday that "Vladimir Putin is set to travel to China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit hosted by President Xi Jinping but is likely to skip the Group of 20 in the U.S. with Donald Trump."
He's previously also stated that he would only meet with Zelensky if a deal had been finalized and was ready to sign.
An aerial attack on Kyiv is still underway, with an impact reported on non-residential infrastructure, city authorities said.
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) September 24, 2026
Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that a drone crashed into a garage complex in Obolonskyi district, sending emergency crews to the scene. pic.twitter.com/Fuw3M9Kv8o
Trump and Putin last talked face-to-face in August 2025. But since then the war has only escalated, particularly given Ukraine's long-range strikes on Russian territory and its energy infrastructure, and industrial and retailer sites - with the help of targeting intelligence provided by NATO countries.