Russian missiles strike Kyiv hours after Ukraine agrees to ceasefire deal
12 March 2025, 06:15 | Updated: 12 March 2025, 06:17
Russia has struck Kyiv with a large-scale air attack overnight - just hours after Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to an immediate 30-day ceasefire.
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The agreement to end the war was struck late on Tuesday by US and Ukraine representatives in Saudi Arabia.
But hours later, Russia showed no signs of letting up, as a wave of aerial strikes hit Ukraine's capital, with fires visible across the city.
Ukrainian mayor Vitali Klitschko said air defences had kept strikes on the capital at bay, as air raid sirens sounded across 10 regions of the city.
Air strikes were also seen across areas of Kharkiv, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation.
Ukraine accepts 30-day ceasefire deal: Ukrainian adviser reacts
Just hours earlier, Ukraine targeted Moscow as Russia claimed its air defences shot down 337 Ukrainian drones - the largest attack by the nation in three years.
It comes as Trump lifted restrictions on intelligence sharing with Ukraine, as Sir Keir Starmer joined a chorus of voices hailing the deal "a remarkable breakthrough".
“Our hope is that the Russians will answer ‘yes’ as quickly as possible, so we can get to the second phase of this, which is real negotiations,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said following news of a ceasefire deal.
The US president is expected to call his Russian counterpart this week.
Trump was heard to say “it takes two to tango” after Kyiv’s offer to disarm in what would be the first negotiated pause in fighting since the invasion.
It comes as a Ukrainian government official told LBC that Donald Trump must put pressure on Russia to accept a peace deal Kyiv accepted on Tuesday evening.
Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine's ministry of strategic industries, told LBC's Tonight with Andrew Marr that the US president "has sufficient leverage" to achieve "peace through force".
It came after Ukraine agreed to an offer from the US for a 30-day ceasefire in its war with Russia, with a view to launching talks for "sustainable peace".
The US will now take the deal to Russia, with Secretary of State saying that the "ball is in their court".
President Zelensky has described a US proposed 30-day ceasefire with Russia as a "positive step".
Ukraine says it's ready to accept the plan which will now be presented to Moscow.
The US responded by lifting its suspension of military and intelligence support for Kyiv.
It comes as Donald Trump is poised to invite Volodymyr Zelensky back to the White House following chaotic scenes last week which saw Zelenskyy "kicked out" of Washington.
