Russia and Ukraine trade major attacks after US envoy's talks with Putin

Summary

Russia and Ukraine traded major attacks overnight, shortly after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin to discuss resuming peace talks. Moscow said Ukraine had launched 630 drones towards Russia, and Ukrainian authorities said seven people were killed. Russia fired ballistic missiles at Ukraine and hit a dozen Ukrainian regions overnight, and each side struck the other's capital. The attacks came soon after Putin and Zelenskyy expressed willingness to resume US-mediated talks. Zelensky said on Thursday that the Kremlin's position on the war had not changed. The Kremlin said it was willing to restart trilateral talks with Kyiv and Washington next month, but dismissed new ideas brought by Witkoff, which were developed with European countries and Ukraine, as lacking substance. Trump said negotiators were 'maybe now the closest we've been' to ending the war.

Timeline

1. RTÉ

   22 Oct 2026, 04:53 UTCSource ↗

   RTÉ reports that Russia and Ukraine traded attacks overnight, with Moscow saying Ukraine had launched 630 drones towards Russia, following a US envoy visit.

2. Deutsche Welle

   22 Oct 2026, 04:57 UTCSource ↗

   Deutsche Welle reports that soon after Putin and Zelenskyy expressed willingness to resume US-mediated talks, Russia and Ukraine traded major attacks on each other's capitals.

3. South China Morning Post

   22 Oct 2026, 05:04 UTCSource ↗

   The South China Morning Post reports that Moscow fired ballistic missiles at Ukraine shortly after Witkoff's talks with Putin, that seven people were killed on the Ukrainian side according to authorities, and that Trump said negotiators were 'maybe now the closest we've been' to ending the war.