Russian forces attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles on Wednesday evening, injuring six people and damaging homes, a petrol station and transport equipment, Ukrainian officials said — and missiles struck the capital again in the early hours of Thursday, hours after Moscow said it was willing in principle to resume trilateral peace talks. The city's military administration said the evening missiles hit private homes and a petrol station on the eastern side of the Dnipro River, and Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents to remain in shelters as Reuters witnesses reported explosions across the city. AFP reported that missiles struck Kyiv throughout the night, sending residents into shelters, and that Ukraine's air force warned in the early hours of "more ballistic missiles towards Kyiv."
What happened in the evening attack?
Ballistic missiles hit two districts on the east bank, and six people were injured. Reuters reported that the evening strike injured six people and damaged homes, a petrol station and transport equipment; the city's military administration said missiles hit some private homes as well as a petrol station on the eastern side of the Dnipro, which bisects the capital. Klitschko said on Telegram that the city had come under missile attack. According to AFP, Klitschko later posted that missile strikes had wounded six people in the capital, four of whom needed hospitalisation. No deaths from the evening or overnight strikes on Kyiv were reported by either wire in the reporting opened for this article.
Did the attacks continue overnight?
Yes — a second wave struck in the early hours of Thursday. A Reuters witness said missiles struck Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday, in another attack on the capital after the evening strike. AFP, reporting early on Thursday, said the attacks "did not let up overnight," and Ukraine's air force posted a warning of more ballistic missiles towards Kyiv, instructing residents to stay in shelters. The overnight reporting opened for this article gave no separate toll for the second wave.
What was reported inside Russia the same night?
Drones hit the city of Lipetsk, and Russian authorities claimed a large interception effort towards Moscow. In Lipetsk — home to a major steel plant some 400 km (250 miles) south of Moscow — a man was injured as drones hit apartment buildings and a medical facility, Governor Igor Artamonov said on Telegram, according to Reuters. Russian authorities also said they had intercepted drones during the night, including more than 160 flying towards Moscow, AFP reported. Ukraine did not comment on the Lipetsk incident in the reporting opened for this article, and the interception figure is published as the Russian authorities' claim.
Why does the timing matter?
Because the missiles fell on the day diplomacy moved. Hours before the evening strike, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said after envoy Steve Witkoff's three-hour meeting with President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg that Russia was "in principle, ready to resume" trilateral talks in mid-November and wanted them to focus on post-war security — while warning there was little "substance" in the Ukrainian and European proposals Witkoff had delivered. President Donald Trump said after the meeting it was "the closest we've been" to ending the war, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv also backed resuming the talks: "The American side is proposing to organize this meeting as soon as possible. We are in favour of it." Witkoff called the talks "constructive" but said "there is still important work left to do," with discussions to continue at the technical level. None of that slowed the night's strikes: Russia's attack was the second ballistic strike on the capital in a single night, delivered while both governments were publicly agreeing to talk again.
This report is drawn from Reuters' October 21 evening-attack report and its October 22 early-hours flash, both opened and read in full on reuters.com, and AFP's October 22 report, opened and read in full via its carrier. The injury toll is published as both wires reported it from Kyiv's officials; the Lipetsk injury is published on Governor Artamonov's account via Reuters, and the Moscow interception figure as the Russian authorities' claim via AFP.
