World
• Analysis
Russian Missiles Hit Kyiv as Moscow Signals Readiness for Ukraine Peace Talks
Russian missiles struck Kyiv overnight into Thursday, wounding six people, Ukrainian authorities said, hours after Moscow signaled readiness to resume US-mediated peace talks with Ukraine.
By Haut Monde Post
• October 22, 2026
• 3 Min Read
Overnight strikes on the capital
Ukrainian authorities said Russian missiles hit Kyiv overnight into Thursday, wounding six people and forcing residents into shelters, hours after Moscow signaled it was ready to resume US-mediated peace talks.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on social media that the missile strikes wounded six people in the capital, four of whom needed hospitalisation. Ukraine's Air Force issued an early-hours warning of "more ballistic missiles towards Kyiv" and told residents to remain in shelters.
The strike came after a deadly day for Ukraine. The country said Russian attacks on Wednesday killed at least four people:
- •two in Kyiv
- •an elderly couple in the eastern Kharkiv region
Russian authorities, meanwhile, said they intercepted drones during the night, including more than 160 flying towards Moscow.
Witkoff meets Putin in Saint Petersburg
US envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg on Wednesday, their ninth meeting, with Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, joining the talks remotely.
Witkoff praised Putin for freeing US citizen Stephen Hubbard, a retired English teacher in his 70s who had denied charges of being a "mercenary" fighting for Ukraine.
You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian -- you are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that.
He also told Putin he saw "some degree of momentum" in the US-led talks. On social media, Witkoff called the discussions "constructive" but said "there is still important work left to do".
President Donald Trump said after the meeting that negotiations were "the closest we've been" to ending the war. Witkoff had flown to Russia from a Tuesday meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo, aimed at easing a bitter rift between Trump and the Ukrainian leader after days of friction and Trump's calls for Zelensky to be replaced.
What Moscow says about the talks
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Russia was "in principle, ready to resume" trilateral talks with Ukraine and the US in mid-November, after the US midterm elections, focusing on post-war security.
Ushakov, however, dismissed the Ukrainian and European peace proposals Witkoff had delivered, saying "there wasn't really much substance in them".
He added that a summit of Putin, Trump and China's Xi Jinping was being prepared in Shenzhen, China, for the following month, calling it "the first such meeting in history".
Sanctions, diesel deal and cross-border strikes
Trump delayed sanctions on Russia's war machine, defending the move at the White House on Wednesday as necessary for Hubbard's release. "If you would've put those sanctions on... you could forget about him. You'd never see him again", he said.
Witkoff told Putin Washington was "grateful" for a Russian diesel deal to lower fuel prices, which sparked outrage in Kyiv and across Europe. The deal was seen as an attempt to lower fuel prices for American consumers ahead of the US midterms, in which Trump's Republicans could lose control of Congress.
Across the front lines, Russian occupation authorities in the Lugansk region said a Ukrainian drone strike on a phone company had killed two people.
Witkoff said discussions would continue at technical level between the US, Ukraine and Russia, with trilateral talks possible in mid-November after the US midterm elections.
