Children injured in Russian strikes on Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities said

Four children were among at least 14 people injured in an overnight Russian airstrike on the capital Kiev, Ukrainian officials said.

Two high-rise apartment buildings were hit in the strikes, Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said, without specifying whether they were hit directly or as a result of falling debris.

“All are receiving medical attention, some are hospitalized,” Kyiv’s military administration said in a Telegram post.

Meanwhile, Russian air defenses destroyed a drone heading for Moscow, according to the city’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin.

The blows come as US President Donald Trump said he would only meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin if he knew “we’re going to make a deal”, days after plans for the two to a meeting in Budapest collapsed.

“I’ve always had a great relationship with Vladimir Putin, but this was very disappointing,” Trump said aboard Air Force One as he began a week trip to Asia.

“I thought this would be before peace in the Middle East,” he added.

Trump also said he would China will support efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

The US president is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea on Thursday.

Ending the Russia-Ukraine war has become a focal point for Trump in recent months, with a ceasefire agreement so far eluding him despite campaign promises to resolve the situation quickly.

A summit with Putin in August failed to produce tangible results, and Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Moscow.

“Every time I talk to Vladimir, I have good conversations and then they don’t go anywhere,” Trump said earlier this week.

However, top Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who met with US officials in Washington on Friday and Saturday, told CNN he believes Russia, Ukraine and the US are close to a diplomatic solution to end the war.

“It’s a big step on the part of President Zelensky to now recognize that it’s about battle lines,” Dmitriev said, a reference to the Ukrainian president’s description of using the current front lines as a starting point for negotiations as a “good compromise.”

“You know, his previous position was that Russia should leave completely, so I actually think we’re relatively close to a diplomatic solution that can be reached,” Dmitriev added.

Trump said this this week talks with Putin “going nowhere” as he announced new sanctions targeting Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil.