Zelenskyy cuts short S African trip after Russian strike on Kyiv kills 9

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday he is cutting short his official trip to South Africa and returning home after a Russian strike on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv killed at least nine people and injured more than 70.

Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post that he will fly back to Kyiv after meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The Ukrainian leader had hoped to recruit further South African support in efforts to end his country's war with Russia, now in its fourth year.

The attack on Kyiv came hours after peace negotiations appeared to stall, with President Donald Trump lashing out at Zelenskyy, saying he was prolonging the killing field by pushing back on ceding Crimea to Russia as part of a potential peace plan. Later that day, Trump said it's been harder to deal with Zelenskyy than with Russia.

Zelenskyy has said multiple times that recognising occupied territory as Russian is a red line for his country.

The Kyiv City Military Administration said on its Telegram channel that Russia struck Kyiv with drones and ballistic missiles. At least 45 drones were detected, the administration said, adding that Ukraine's Air Force would update the figures later.

At least 42 people were hospitalized in Kyiv, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said. Rescue operations were still underway early morning Thursday to find bodies under the rubble.

At a Kyiv residential building that was almost entirely destroyed, emergency workers removed rubble with their hands, rescuing a trapped woman who emerged from the wreckage covered in white dust and moaning in pain.

An elderly woman sat against a brick wall, face smeared with blood, her eyes fixed to the ground in shock as medics tended to her wounds.

Fires were reported in several residential buildings said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the city military administration.

The attack, which began around 1:00 am, hit at least five neighbourhoods in Kyiv. In Sviatoshynkskyi district, a fire broke out in a residential building that was damaged in the attack.