Key developments on March 22 - 23:
- Kyiv hit by massive Russian drone strike, 3 dead including a 5-year-old girl and her father
- Russian attacks on Kyiv 'undermine peace efforts,' Sybiha says
- China considering joining Ukraine peacekeeping mission, Die Welt reports
- Czechia willing to contribute troops for peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, Pavel says
- Zelensky visits front-line troops, holds meeting in Kharkiv Oblast amid fears of renewed Russian offensive
Russia launched an overnight drone attack against Kyiv, striking multiple residential buildings and killing at least three people including a five-year-old girl and her father, authorities reported on March 23.
A further 10 other people were injured, including an 11-month-old child, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration. Emergency crews had extinguished all the fires by the morning.
A series of explosions rocked the capital throughout the night, as air defense units remained active in the city, according to Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground.
Initially, two people were reported dead but the number increased after rescuers discovered the body of the five-year-old child while clearing rubble in the Holosiivskyi district, said the Kyiv City Military Administration. Earlier, the body of her father was found in the same location.
"Today, the Russians are once again demonstrating their 'desire for peace,'" Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration said.
"In reality, terrorists are simply launching deadly weapons at residential buildings."
Russian forces launched 147 drones overnight across the country and Ukraine's air defense shot down 97 drones, Ukraine's Air Force reported. The previous day, air defense shot down 100 drones, and 114 drones the day before that.
Previously, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that at least seven people had been injured. One victim was hospitalized, while the others received medical treatment onsite, he said.
Two residential buildings in the city's Dniprovskyi district came under fire, according to authorities. A fire broke out on the top floors of a 9-story building, killing one woman, the State Emergency Service said. Twenty-seven residents were evacuated.
The sixth floor of a 16-story apartment building was also damaged.
Drone debris struck a catering facility in the same district, according to Tkachenko.
In the Podilskyi district, a fire broke out on the 20th floor of a 25-story residential building. Previously, Tkachenko had reported that two buildings in the area were hit, though he later said the strike on the second building had not been verified.
In the Holosiivskyi district, the attack caused fires in an office building and warehouse, as well as a residential trailer. Two people were killed, the State Emergency Service said.
Wreckage from drones caused fires and property damage throughout the city. A fire broke out in a forest area of the Desnianskyi district, while two cars in the Shevchenkivsky district were damaged.
"These attacks are a daily reality," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on social media on March 23, adding: "This week alone, over 1,580 guided aerial bombs, nearly 1,100 strike drones, and 15 missiles of various types were used against our people."
Four people were also killed by Russian strikes in Donetsk Oblast, Governor Vadym Filashkin reported.
The latest attack comes less than a week into the partial 30-day "ceasefire" on attacks against energy infrastructure in Russia and Ukraine.
The ceasefire, which the Kremlin announced on March 18 following a call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, has not interrupted Moscow's aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Chris York
Russian attacks on Kyiv 'undermine peace efforts,' Sybiha says
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on March 23 condemned Russia's continued attacks on civilians following a mass drone attack on Kyiv the night prior.
"Russia's systematic and deliberate terror against civilians contradicts its own statements about peace and undermines peace efforts by the US and other partners," Sybiha wrote on X.
Sybiha further called for "additional air defense capabilities to protect its people from Russian terror and an increased pressure on the aggressor to end the war."
The latest attacks occurred on the eve of peace negotiations in Riyadh on March 24, where the U.S. will hold indirect talks between Moscow and Kyiv, with Russian and Ukrainian representatives present in separate rooms.
A Ukrainian delegation met with its U.S. counterpart in Riyadh on March 23 for talks on "technical issues" on the partial ceasefire on energy and critical infrastructure strikes, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said.
Dmytro Basmat
China considering joining Ukraine peacekeeping mission, Die Welt reports
China is reportedly considering joining a peacekeeping force as part of the European-led "coalition of the willing" to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine, the German media outlet Die Welt reported on March 22, citing unnamed diplomatic sources.
China has positioned itself as a neutral party to Russia's war against Ukraine, but has remained a key ally of Russia throughout the full-scale invasion.
"The inclusion of China in a 'coalition of the willing' could potentially increase Russia's acceptance of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine," an unnamed EU diplomatic source told Die Welt.
The source described the situation as "delicate."
Chinese diplomats are exploring Europe's openness to Beijing's participation in the coalition, EU diplomatic sources claimed.
The "coalition of the willing" is a group of allied countries led by U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron. The coalition aims to provide security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, possibly including a contingent of troops that would reinforce the Ukrainian military.
Moscow has repeatedly rejected the idea of European or NATO troops in Ukraine.
European leaders, including Zelensky, are set to meet in Paris on March 27 to continue discussing a peace plan and security guarantees for Ukraine.
Leaders part of the coalition have not shared any details of China's potential involvement in the process.
Chinese officials on March 18 signaled Beijing's willingness to take part in Ukraine's post-war reconstruction.
Russia's main economic partner in recent years has been China due to Western sanctions.
Russia and China continue to hold joint military drills, along with other allies such as Belarus and Iran. China partook in a military drill with Russia and Iran on March 11 in the Gulf of Oman.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
Czechia willing to contribute troops for peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, Pavel says
Czechia is ready to contribute troops to a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, Czech President Petr Pavel said in a television interview released on March 22.
Pavel met Zelensky in Kyiv on March 21 to discuss European-led security guarantees for Ukraine and cooperation in defense production. Prior to that, Pavel visited Odesa on March 20, during which Russia launched a drone attack on the city that injured three people.
"If there is a strong group of European nations willing to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, my strong conviction is that (the) Czech Republic should be among them," Pavel said.
The Czech president said that the "newly organized coalition of the willing" is ready to deploy a "stabilizing force" in Ukraine once a peace deal is reached.
"We are part of this coalition now and I believe that once we come to an understanding that there is (a) common will to deploy ... forces, that (the) Czech Republic will be part of it," Pavel said.
Pavel said NATO membership should not be an "obstacle" to achieving a peace agreement, but should not be taken off the table for Ukraine.
"Let's have it as an open issue for the future because politicians come and go," Pavel said, referring to Trump's opposition to Ukraine's NATO membership.
Czechia is ready to work with Ukraine on reconstruction and military cooperation, Pavel said.
"The biggest threat to European security was and still is Russia," he added.
Pavel also said that Russia's war against Ukraine would likely end up with Russia's temporary occupation of Ukrainian territory, but that Russia's sovereignty should not be recognized.
"If there is no real will to provide much more military support (to Ukraine) ... with limited personnel, it will be impossible for Ukraine without huge losses to succeed in liberating territories that are occupied by Russia," he said.
According to Pavel, Ukraine has not obtained enough military aid to ensure a complete victory.
"This conflict without changing the parameters will most probably end up with some compromise ... but I believe the compromise solution shouldn't be recognition of occupied territories as rightfully Russian."
Pavel was in Odesa on March 20 to meet with Oleksii Kuleba, deputy prime minister for the restoration of Ukraine. Maritime security, reconstruction, and community development were on the agenda for the visit.
On March 21, Pavel met Zelensky in Kyiv, where the two leaders agreed to open a Unity Center for Ukrainians in Prague.
Czechia has been one of Ukraine's staunchest allies throughout Russia's full-scale invasion. The two countries signed a 10-year bilateral security deal in July 2024.
Natalia Yermak
Zelensky visits front-line troops, holds meeting in Kharkiv Oblast amid fears of renewed Russian offensive
President Volodymyr Zelensky visited front-line troops near Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast and held a military command meeting in Kharkiv Oblast on March 22, as Russia continues to press on in eastern Ukraine.
Zelensky has previously said that Russia is attempting renewed offensives in various parts of the front line, including in Kharkiv Oblast.
The president visited the command post of the tactical group "Pokrovsk" and was briefed on front-line developments by acting commander Yurii Madiar. The embattled town has been among the most hotly contested areas of the front, though Zelensky reported on March 15 that the situation near Pokrovsk had "stabilized."
On the same day, Zelensky visited the command post of the tactical group "Kharkiv" and was updated about the battlefield situation in Kharkiv Oblast by Commander Viktor Solimchuk.
The Russian army has not stopped trying to expand its footholds in the northern areas of the region, Solimchuk said.
Zelensky presented soldiers in both areas with medals, including the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi.
"I want to thank you for truly bringing Ukraine closer to a lasting and just peace, to victory. We all deeply want this, and every step is important," he said.
Zelensky later held a military cabinet meeting in Kharkiv with senior officials in the armed forces and the Presidential Office.
The president and his team discussed key front-line developments and prepared for the upcoming meeting between Ukrainian and U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia on March 23, the Presidential Office said.
Zelensky previously said the delegation would meet on March 24, the same day the U.S. is set to hold separate meetings with Russian delegates. CBS News correspondent Jennifer Jacobs reported on March 21 that a U.S. technical team would meet with Ukrainian officials a day earlier.
"If progress is made in Riyadh with Russian team, the U.S. technical team may meet again with the Ukrainians' team later Monday," Jacobs wrote, citing sources familiar with the talks.
Zelensky also plans to meet European leaders in Paris on March 27 in a meeting hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
