Kiev, May 18 (Reuters) – Russia launched its biggest drone attack on Ukraine since the start of the war on Sunday, destroying the home and killing at least one woman before President Donald Trump discusses a proposal to stop with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian intelligence agency said it believes Moscow intended to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile in an attempt to intimidate the West later on Sunday. There was no immediate response from Moscow to the accusations.
Following his visit to the White House in February, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is working to restore relations with Washington, met with Roman Vice President Marco Rubio and bystanders of Pope Leo’s inauguration.
Zelenskyy said the meeting was “good” and released a photo of Ukrainians and US officials sitting at a round table laughing. Ukrainian media said the meeting lasted for 40 minutes.
“We reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to engage in real diplomacy and emphasized the importance of a complete and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible,” said Zelensky, who met the new Pope.
Ukraine and Russia held their first in-person meeting on Friday in more than three years, and under pressure from Trump, pressured them to agree to a ceasefire in the war that he promised to bring about a quick end. The enemy agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each, but failed to agree to a ceasefire after Moscow presented the conditions that the Ukrainian delegation called “non-stars.”
Leaders from Britain, France, Germany and Poland had planned to speak to Trump before the US and Russian presidents spoke on Monday, German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz said. Four European leaders visited Kiev last week together last week and have called on Trump to support new sanctions against Russia.
Asked if it was time for Russia to impose harsh sanctions, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent said it would be up to Trump.
“I think we’ll see what happens when both parties get to the table,” he told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” program.
“President Trump has made it very clear that if Putin doesn’t negotiate in good faith, the United States will not hesitate to hamper Russia’s sanctions with its European partners.”
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia had fired 273 drones in the Ukrainian city as of 8am on Sunday after an air warning night.
“I heard the drone.”
At the ruins of 44-year-old Natalia Piven’s family home in the Obkiv region of western Kiev, she shared how she and her son narrowed her down to the basement after an air raid warning.
They then ran off to the kindergarten bomb shelter, then another wave of drones waned into the village. Their home was completely destroyed. A 28-year-old woman who lived next door was killed. Ukrainian authorities said three other people were injured, including a four-year-old child.
“I can’t get over it. I simply can’t. I could clearly hear the drone flying towards my house,” Piven told Reuters.
Trump has shifted US rhetoric from support from Ukraine to embracing some of the Moscow stories about the war that President Putin launched in 2022.
Zelenskyy says it will accept Trump’s proposal for an at least 30-day immediate ceasefire without condition. Moscow says it will consider a ceasefire, but that is only if conditions are met, including the halt of arms supplies to Kiev.
It also states that peace negotiations must address the “root causes” of the conflict, including the demand for Ukraine to give up its territory and accept a neutral position. Kiev says it amounts to surrender and leaves him vulnerable.
(Additional reports by Valentin Ogilenko, Gleb Galanich, Anna Votenko of Melbourne, Anna Votenko of Kiev, and Lydia Kelly, written by Lydia Kelly, Grafedi by Peter Grafedi by William Mallard, Jamie Fried and Helen Popper
