Russia Resumes Missile Attacks on Major Ukrainian Cities After Brief Truce

Kyiv. After a short ceasefire, Russia resumed missile attacks on major Ukrainian cities starting Tuesday morning. According to local officials, a ballistic missile was fired at the capital Kyiv, where CNN reported hearing several powerful explosions, citing its staff.

Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, wrote on Telegram that multi-story residential buildings and a kindergarten were damaged. Hundreds of citizens were forced to take shelter in underground metro stations as temperatures dropped below minus 20 degrees Celsius. The Ukrainian Air Force stated that ballistic missile attacks were also occurring in the eastern city of Dnipro. Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported that missiles and drones were fired at Kharkiv, the second-largest city.

Last week, Russia had agreed to temporarily halt attacks on major cities and energy infrastructure following a personal request from US President Donald Trump. This agreement came after trilateral Russia-Ukraine-US talks in Abu Dhabi.

This was the first direct negotiation since the Ukraine war began in early 2022. Ukrainian officials stated that during the truce period, while Russia did not strike energy centers, it continued to attack cargo routes and transportation infrastructure. These attacks reportedly caused human casualties. The new attacks indicate that peace efforts have weakened and the war has returned to an intense phase.