KYIV, Ukraine (AP) \u2014 Two people were killed when Russia bombarded the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with drones and missiles overnight, local authorities said Tuesday, and a Russian-installed official in illegally annexed Crimea said a Ukrainian attack killed two people there.<\/p>\n
The attacks came soon after the warring countries had paused attacks on each other’s capitals over the weekend as U.S. envoys made a renewed push<\/a> to narrow the differences between Moscow and Kyiv and steer them toward a peace settlement.<\/p>\n With neither side able to deliver a knockout blow in the war that started after Moscow\u2019s February 2022 invasion<\/a>, and with armies on the front line largely stuck, Russia and Ukraine have in recent months intensified their air war<\/a> in an effort to grind each other down.<\/p>\n The visit to Moscow and Kyiv by Washington envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff produced no significant breakthrough that might stop the fighting.<\/p>\n Top Ukraine diplomat says \u2018horrific\u2019 attack hurts peace efforts<\/p>\n The main targets of Russia’s overnight attack were Kyiv and the southern Odesa region. At least 16 people were wounded in Kyiv, Ukraine\u2019s Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said. There was no immediate tally of casualties in Odesa.<\/p>\n Explosions were heard in Kyiv for nearly five hours, according to Vyhivskyi. More than 50 sites were damaged in Kyiv during the Russian overnight attack Tuesday, including residential buildings, dormitories, schools, shops, gas stations and a flour production plant, he said.<\/p>\n Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called it \u201ca horrific attack\u201d and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of undermining U.S. peace efforts.<\/p>\n \u201cHis ballistic missiles speak louder than his words on diplomacy,\u201d Sybiha said on X, referring to Putin. \u201cStrike after strike on residential buildings brings him no closer to winning this war \u2014 it is nothing but senseless terror.\u201d<\/p>\n Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram that the attack was complex and appeared deliberately designed to cause maximum damage, involving ballistic and cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles and Shahed drones.<\/p>\n Russia says it hit military-related targets<\/p>\n The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces overnight launched a massive strike with \u201cland-, air-, and sea-based precision weapons, as well as long-range unmanned aerial vehicles\u201d on Ukrainian military industry facilities. It provided a detailed list of its targets.<\/p>\n The targets included places storing Ukrainian drones and cruise missiles, as well transport, logistics and distribution centers for military cargo in Kyiv and the Kyiv region, the ministry said.<\/p>\n Infrastructure in the port of Chornomorsk in the Odesa region used for \u201cunloading military cargo\u201d also was struck. Additionally, the Russian forces hit a tanker carrying fuel and lubricants for the Ukrainian armed forces, the ministry said.<\/p>\n In the meantime, a Ukrainian attack on Crimea killed two people and wounded one, the peninsula\u2019s Russian-installed governor Sergei Aksyonov said.<\/p>\n People rescued from Kyiv apartment blocks after attack<\/p>\n The Russian attack caused damage and fires in at least five districts of the capital, Ukraine\u2019s State Emergency Service said. The Kyiv City Military Administration said civilian infrastructure was damaged in at least 16 locations.<\/p>\n A 26-story non-residential building was hit in the Holosiivskyi district. Rescuers saved one person during a search and two people were evacuated from an apartment in a 16-story residential building, officials said.<\/p>\n People also were trapped in a five-story, residential building in Solomianskyi district, according to authorities. <\/p>\n Kyiv resident Iryna Barisenkova, 61, said she heard explosions while traveling on public transport and was told there was a large fire near the Darnytskyi Vehicle Repair Plant on the capital\u2019s left bank.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything was thundering on the left bank,\u201d Barisenkova said. \u201cIt was just brutal.\u201d<\/p>\n Barisenkova said she had slept well during the previous two nights while Witkoff and Kushner traveled to Kyiv and then stayed in the city.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got some rest, thanks to them,\u201d she said. \u201cLet them come more often so they don\u2019t shell us.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Associated Press journalist Vasilisa Stepanenko in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n