Russia strikes bombard Kyiv ahead of Trump-Zelenskyy talks in Florida

Heavy Russian shelling and explosions struck Kyiv and the surrounding region early Saturday morning, killing at least two people and injuring 20 more on a weekend set for high-level diplomatic talks and a renewed push for peace. The attacks came just hours before European leaders were set to speak by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as part of a growing push for a peace deal that will see the Ukrainian president hold talks with President Donald Trump in the U.S. on Sunday . The overnight strikes killed one person and injured 20 more in Kyiv, Ukrainian Minister of Interior Ihor Klymenko said, adding that more than 10 residential buildings in the city had been damaged. One person was also killed in the city of Bila Tserkva, around 55 miles south of Kyiv, he added. The strikes caused the temporary closure of two airports in southeastern Poland after the Polish air force scrambled fighter jets, the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency said on X. Zelenskyy said Saturday that 500 Russian drones and 40 missiles had struck the nation, showing that Russian President Vladimir Putin does "not want to end the war." “If Russia turns even the Christmas and New Year period into a time of destroyed homes and burned apartments, of ruined power plants, then this sick activity can only be responded to with truly strong steps,” he posted on X. “The United States has this capability. Europe has this capability.” The latest strikes came less than 48 hours after Zelenskyy signaled that a peace deal was close, and just a day before talks with Trump in Florida on Sunday. On Saturday, Zelenskyy said he would also stop in Canada on the way for a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney, and would also talk remotely with European leaders to "exchange the details of the documents I will be discussing with the President of the United States." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will be in attendance during the online meeting, a European Commission spokesperson told NBC News. European leaders have been largely sidelined in the main negotiations between the U.S., Ukraine and Russia. They have focused on how to support Ukraine in the event of a peace deal, with talks ongoing over security guarantees and funding. But longtime American allies in Europe have struggled to balance mounting pressure from Washington with their reluctance to give in to Russia’s hard-line demands. A Ukrainian official familiar with the planning for Sunday’s meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump told NBC News that, in addition to security guarantees for Ukraine, the Ukrainians are preparing to discuss economic prosperity and reconstruction of the war-torn country . "For us, it is very important that there is a signal that we want legally binding security guarantees," Zelenskyy said in a WhatsApp audio on Saturday. "This primarily depends on President Trump. The question is what security guarantees President Trump is ready to provide to Ukraine." There are also talks of holding a joint news conference with Trump...

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