“The primary target is Kyiv – energy facilities and civilian infrastructure,” he said in a post on X. The Ukrainian authorities noted that the intense overnight strikes lasted for 10 hours and killed one person, injuring two dozen others. On Sunday, Zelenskyy is scheduled to hold a face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump, who has a plan to end nearly four years of fighting that has killed tens of thousands.
Ahead of his visit, the Ukrainian leader stopped in Canada, where he met the country's Prime Minister Mark Carney, who announced an additional $2.5bn (£1.85bn) of economic aid for Ukraine. While speaking to reporters, Carney condemned the “barbaric” overnight attack on Kyiv.
“We have the conditions, the possibility, for the just and lasting peace,” he said, adding this requires a “willing Russia”. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy also held a video call with his European allies before meeting Trump, as the continent will be watching closely the meeting that is expected to take place at the US President's Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago.
EU stands with Zelenskyy
In the video conference, French President Emmanuel Macron highlighted what he called the “contrast” between “the willingness of Ukraine to build a lasting peace and Russia’s determination to prolong the war that it started”, Elysee officials said. Meanwhile, EU chiefs
“In 2026, the EU Commission will continue to keep up the pressure on the Kremlin, sustain our support to Ukraine, and work intensely to accompany Ukraine on its path toward EU membership,” von der Leyen said on Saturday. Zelenskyy maintained that he would hold talks with the European leaders again after meeting with Trump on Sunday.
He told reporters that the overnight bombing in Kyiv showed that international pressure on Russia is insufficient. “If Russia turns even the Christmas and New Year period into a time of destroyed homes and burnt apartments, of ruined power plants, then this sick activity can only be responded to with truly strong steps,” he said. “The United States has this capability. Europe has this capability. Many of our partners have this capability. The key is to use it," the Ukrainian leader furthered.
What is Russia's stance on the matter?
Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry said that it had downed 111 Ukrainian drones, in what appeared to be a retaliatory attack. On Saturday, Moscow claimed to have captured two more towns in eastern Ukraine, Myrmorod and Guliaipole.
Zelenskyy said that his meeting with Trump in Florida is “specifically intended to refine things as much as we possibly can." Speaking on Friday, he added that a proposed 20-point peace plan was “90% ready”. “Our goal is to bring everything to 100%,” Zelenskyy said. “As of today, our teams – the Ukrainian and American negotiating teams – have made significant progress.”
Following the Saturday strikes, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia’s “only response to peace efforts” was “brutal attacks using hundreds of drones and missiles against Kyiv and other cities and regions”. The minister said that a third of the capital was without heating. The temperature in Kyiv was about 0 °C (32F).
It is pertinent to note that the latest peace efforts would follow a burst of diplomatic activity last weekend in Miami, where Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, as well as Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, separately met Russian and Ukrainian representatives to discuss an agreeable peace deal. It will be interesting to see how the Florida meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy would pan out.
