A renewed assault on Kyiv by Russia, involving a fleet of drones and a barrage of missiles, starkly reveals “the true mindset of Putin and his close associates,” articulated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday. This statement comes as he gears up for a meeting with President Donald Trump.
The nighttime assault on Ukraine’s capital resulted in at least one fatality and 27 injuries, as reported by local officials to the Associated Press. This attack coincides with Zelenskyy’s plans to present a 20-point peace blueprint to Trump during their upcoming meeting in Florida, aimed at resolving the ongoing conflict with Russia.
“The Russian offensive is still unfolding: since last night, nearly 500 drones, including a significant number of ‘shaheds,’ along with 40 missiles, such as Kinzhals, have targeted Kyiv’s energy facilities and civilian structures,” Zelenskyy noted on X on Saturday morning. “Unfortunately, there have been impacts, and residential buildings have suffered damage. Rescue teams are on the scene, trying to locate a person trapped beneath the debris of one of these structures.”
“In recent days, many have questioned Russia’s response to peace proposals from the United States and the international community. Russian officials engage in prolonged discussions, yet the missiles and drones tell their story,” Zelenskyy emphasized. “This reflects the true stance of Putin and his circle. They show no interest in ending the conflict and instead aim to inflict greater suffering on Ukraine and exert more pressure globally.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and President Donald Trump. (Viktor Kovalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images; Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP; Alex Brandon/AP)
On Saturday, Zelenskyy further remarked, “If Russia chooses to turn the festive Christmas and New Year period into one of devastation, with demolished homes and scorched apartments, along with crippled power plants, then such unhealthy actions demand a robust response.”
“The United States has this capability. Europe has this capability. Many of our partners have this capability. The key is to use it,” he declared.
Trump, ahead of the meeting with Zelenskyy, has said he will call the final shots on a peace deal to end the conflict.
A drone hits an apartment building in Kyiv during Russia’s attack on Ukraine on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)
“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump told Politico Friday. “So we’ll see what he’s got.”
The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday that it carried out a “massive strike” overnight, using “long-range precision-guided weapons from land, air, and sea, including Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missiles” and drones, on energy infrastructure facilities “used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” as well as “Ukrainian military-industrial complex enterprises.”
Rescuers work on the scene of a building damaged by a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)
The ministry said the strike came in response to Ukraine’s attacks on “civilian objects” in Russia.
Flames rise from a residential building following a Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Earlier on Saturday, the ministry said its air defenses shot down seven Ukrainian drones over the Russian regions of Krasnodar and Adygeya overnight.
