Russia launched a major ballistic missile attack overnight into the morning of Thursday, 22nd October, killing two people and injuring 34 others.
The strikes, which saw at least 21 ballistic missiles launched towards Kyiv in three separate waves, damaged buildings and infrastructure across a dozen Ukrainian regions.
Putin in August 2021 Russian Federation Photo
Putin at a Conference 2026. Kremlin Handout Photo.
The strikes came hours after U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff visited Russia as President Donald Trump seeks a permanent end to a conflict that’s been waged for four and a half years.
Five Children Injured
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the strikes had injured five children in addition to the two people killed and a further 29 injured.
He confirmed that several sites were damaged, including residential buildings, energy facilities, railway infrastructure, shopping malls, and a monastery.
Ukraine, likewise, fired projectiles at Russia.
Hundreds of drones were sent towards Russian targets from Ukraine overnight, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, who said two people were injured following a barrage of 630 drones that were mostly intercepted.
Two Days of Talks
Special Envoy Witkoff conducted another multi-city tour this week, first meeting Zelensky in Oslo on Tuesday with the leaders of Norway and Finland, then flying to Moscow the following day.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said the aim was “to put diplomatic efforts on a more constructive path” ahead of the summit.
In what was reportedly a short meeting, Witkoff praised the “humanitarian” Russian President Vladimir Putin before presenting a set of proposals drafted in Oslo.
The U.S. proposals reportedly involve Ukraine ceding the Donbas to Russia in exchange for a future security guarantee from NATO.
While optimism remains over potential trilateral talks between the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine after this week’s meetings, the Kremlin remains unconvinced of the latest proposals. “In terms of resolving the Ukraine crisis, there wasn’t much there that was useful,” said Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, on Wednesday evening.
Frustrations Remain
In part, Witkoff’s visit aimed to cool tensions between the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents. Trump and Zelensky have unleashed public criticisms of each other after the former announced a deal to secure Russian diesel.
The Ukrainian leader did little to hide his frustrations when sharing the latest Russian attacks on social media.
“Almost immediately after another round of talks, Russia launched a pointed attack,” said Zelensky on Thursday morning. “This means there has been no real change in its attitude toward everything that is happening,” he added.
While it is “important to keep trying to find the right solutions to end this war,” the Ukrainian President said: “When Russia responds to negotiations with ballistic missiles, real pressure on Russia is needed to bring about different steps – steps toward ending the killing.”
Zelensky called for “stronger air defenses and the rapid delivery of missiles, the ability to destroy ballistic missile launchers, sanctions over the war” to bring an end to the conflict.
Monastery Strike Deliberate, Zelensky Says
In a follow-up post later in the day, President Zelensky said Russia had used cluster warheads to strike the Holy Presentation Monastery in Kyiv. He said the “extraordinarily revealing strike” was “no accident.”
“The choice of weapon was deliberate, the choice of target area was deliberate, and so was the intent to inflict as much loss and damage on civilians as possible. There was no military target nearby, not even in theory, and the weapon was designed to cause widespread destruction,” Zelensky said. “Russia has not changed the way it wages this war, and it is taking no steps that would signal a genuine desire to end it.”
With strikes continuing through Thursday, and Russia having conducted more than 170 strikes on critical energy facilities in Ukraine in the past ten days, Zelensky warned that Ukrainian intelligence suggested Russia “has set priorities for further terror against Ukrainians in the coming weeks.”
“Russia is clearly taking advantage of the slowdown in air defense supplies from our partners,” he added. “It is equally clear that when some partners ease the pressure on Russia, it only reinforces Putin’s belief that his goals are within reach. We need different signals and different steps – stronger ones.”
He added that he had instructed the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense to “brief our partners on every aspect of the real situation and the threats we face,” and that it “is important to speed up deliveries of defense packages that have already been approved.”
About the Author: Shay Bottomley
Shay Bottomley is a British journalist. He has written for the Western Standard, Business Insider, Maidenhead Advertiser, Slough Express, Windsor Express, Berkshire Live and Southend Echo.
