Russian barrage on Kyiv kills seven, disrupts energy supplies

By Pavel Polityuk and Olena Harmash

KYIV (Reuters) -Russia launched a new barrage of drones and missiles at the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Tuesday, officials said, killing seven people, wounding 21, and disrupting electricity and heating systems as Ukraine raced to finalise a U.S.-backed peace deal.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russian forces launched more than 460 drones and 22 missiles, their second major strike on Kyiv this month. The air force said it had downed most of the drones and around half of the missiles.

"The primary targets were the energy sector and everything that keeps normal life going," Zelenskiy said in a post on the Telegram app. 

   As Russia hit Kyiv in several waves of attacks, diplomatic talks on ending the war gained some momentum. 

Ukrainian, European, and U.S. officials have held several rounds of talks in recent days, and Ukraine on Tuesday signalled support for the framework for a peace deal while stressing that sensitive issues needed to be fixed.

ZELENSKIY CALLS FOR AIR DEFENCE, WEAPONS  

"What matters most now is that all partners move toward diplomacy together, through joint efforts. Pressure on Russia must deliver results," Zelenskiy said, urging uninterrupted weapons and air defence supplies to Kyiv.

Zelenskiy said that four Russian drones had flown over Ukraine's neighbours Moldova and NATO-member Romania. 

Romania said it had scrambled fighter jets to track drones which breached its territory near the border with Ukraine.

Romania shares a 650-km (400-mile) land border with Ukraine and has had drones breach its airspace and fragments fall onto its territory repeatedly since Russia began attacking Kyiv's ports across the Danube.

ELECTRICITY, HEATING SUPPLIES DISRUPTED 

Ukraine's Energy Ministry said Russian strikes had disrupted electricity supplies to more than 102,000 people in five Ukrainian regions. 

Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the military administration for the capital, said damage was recorded at 13 sites across Kyiv. Residential and commercial buildings and infrastructure were damaged. 

Kyiv city officials also said heating supplies across several districts in the capital were restricted. The weather is unseasonably warm with temperatures hovering at about 8 degrees Celsius.

"The Russians are deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure and housing. Cynical terror," Tkachenko said on Telegram.

Moscow denies intentionally targeting civilians despite having killed thousands of them since launching its invasion in 2022. It says civilian infrastructure such as energy supplies are legitimate targets to hurt Ukraine's ability to fight.

Ukrainian officials also said that port and energy infrastructure were damaged in the Black Sea port of Odesa, where six people were injured.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Olena Harmash; Editing by Peter Graff, Aidan Lewis)