Zelensky says ballistic missile attacks show ‘no change’ in Kremlin position after Putin-Witkoff talks; Ukraine gets 252 bodies in swap with Russia
Published : 23 October 2026
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Updated : 23 October 2026, 01:35
Ukraine launches 630 drones towards Moscow
Russia fired 21 ballistic missiles in three waves
Russia pounded Kyiv with ballistic missiles and Ukraine sent hundreds of drones towards Moscow overnight as the warring sides kept up a barrage of attacks despite the latest US push to end the conflict.
Russia said on Wednesday it was ready to resume US-mediated talks with Ukraine next month, after President Vladimir Putin hosted US envoy Steve Witkoff for talks in St Petersburg.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he hoped negotiations, which would be the first since February, would take place early in November.
But after overnight missile strikes, Zelensky said: “Almost immediately after another round of talks, Russia launched a pointed attack. This means there has been no real change in its attitude towards everything that is happening.”
Ukraine said Russia fired at least 21 ballistic missiles in three waves. Russia said Ukraine launched 630 drones towards the capital Moscow during the night.
The two sides held an exchange of war dead, with Moscow handing over 252 bodies and Ukraine handing over 25, according to the Belta state news agency in neighbouring Belarus. Such exchanges have accompanied moves towards talks in the past.
But while Witkoff spoke of “some degree of momentum” after meeting Zelensky and European and Nato officials in Oslo earlier in the week, the Kremlin expressed doubts.
“The Americans sensed some new nuances (in Oslo) and told us about this. But these nuances, so to speak, do not entirely satisfy us,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
A senior Russian official, briefed on the results of the Putin-Witkoff talks, said they were relatively short and not substantive. The American brought a set of proposals drafted in Oslo and handed them to Putin for review, the person said.
Meanwhile, Nato yesterday said it was allowing Ukraine to buy weapons through the alliance’s central procurement agency, as the war-torn country seeks to boost arms supplies.
On Wednesday night, Russia carried out a “massive strike” on port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region, as well as on vessels used by the Ukrainian military. In Russia, two people were wounded near Moscow by drones launched towards the capital.