Within hours of a planned Trump–Putin meeting being called off, a wave of overnight Russian air strikes ripped through Ukrainian cities, killing at least six people — including children — and shattering residential blocks as families slept. The blasts were so powerful that entire stairwells collapsed, firefighters clawing through twisted metal in the dark while sirens screamed above them.
Emergency services in Kyiv and Kharkiv confirmed that at least two children were among the dead after missiles and drones slammed into homes, schools, and a kindergarten. “We pulled tiny shoes from the rubble,” one exhausted rescuer told Reuters. “You can train for a lot of things. Not for that.” Residents said the strikes came in waves, giving families no time to reach shelters before the explosions hit.
Children among the dead after overnight strikes in Ukraine; apartment blocks and a kindergarten hit. @Reuters
Kyiv’s mayor described “a night of chaos and terror” as debris rained across multiple districts. Several high-rise blocks were left gutted, their facades blackened and balconies hanging in shards. Footage shared by residents showed families trapped behind collapsed walls, screaming for help through smoke. “I heard the boom, grabbed my son, and ran,” a mother told BBC News. “We didn’t make it to the shelter in time. We were lucky to survive.”
The timing of the strikes drew immediate scrutiny from diplomats. Just hours earlier, Donald Trump had abruptly scrapped a quiet meeting with Vladimir Putin after intelligence warnings signaled a rapidly deteriorating security landscape. Analysts told Financial Times that the attack felt like a “blunt message” from Moscow — a show of strength as diplomatic options narrow and battlefield escalation accelerates.
“Talks shelved, missiles launched.” — grim mood on Kyiv’s streets after another deadly night @guardian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the strikes “terror against our children,” demanding faster deliveries of air defense systems and ammunition from Western allies. “Every delay has a cost measured in lives,” a senior Ukrainian security official told Politico. Zelenskyy said the Kremlin is trying to “break Ukraine by freezing it and bleeding it,” as temperatures drop and energy systems come under relentless fire.
Large sections of Kyiv, Kharkiv, and surrounding regions were plunged into darkness after the blasts damaged key power infrastructure. Crews worked through the night to restore the grid, but officials warned of rolling blackouts and heating shortages as winter approaches. Engineers described “controlled chaos” at several substations, telling The New York Times they were racing against time to stabilize the network before temperatures fall further.
Kyiv, Kharkiv, and central regions report outages after strikes; crews racing to restore power. @nytimes
On X, #StandWithUkraine began trending overnight as images of scorched courtyards and burned children’s toys ricocheted across the platform. One video, now seen millions of times, showed a firefighter handing a soot-covered teddy bear to a shaking child wrapped in a blanket. “He keeps asking if the planes will come back,” the child’s aunt told AP. “How do you explain war to someone who still believes in Santa?”
Russian state media claimed the strikes were aimed at “military infrastructure” — a familiar line dismissed by Kyiv as propaganda. Investigators released early photos of recovered debris that match previous cruise and ballistic missile types, according to experts cited by DW. Ukrainian officials say the pattern of impact points — kindergartens, homes, power plants — tells a far different story.
Officials in Kyiv publish debris photos they say are from cruise and ballistic missiles used overnight. @KyivPost
As dawn broke, exhausted parents carried their children past twisted iron fences and shattered playgrounds, stepping carefully through broken glass and bomb craters. Volunteers handed out blankets, warm drinks, and medical supplies in the freezing air. “We tuck our kids into bed in their shoes,” one father told CNN. “We tell them it’s a game. But they know it isn’t.”
The Trump–Putin summit, once quietly framed as a potential diplomatic turning point, has now been overshadowed by the sound of air raid sirens. U.S. officials have offered no new date for rescheduling the talks. European diplomats warn this moment could mark the beginning of “a darker, deadlier winter” in Ukraine, as Russia pushes its campaign to cripple civilian morale through fear and cold.
For the families who spent the night under falling debris, the politics are distant. There are no negotiations when the ceiling caves in. Only the quiet tallying of names, the folding of children’s clothes into bags, and the unbearable sound of silence after the explosions stop.