And in his nightly address on Saturday, he said he was “thankful to every country whose representatives have spoken out” about the strike, and – although he did not single out the US – emphasised that silence would embolden Moscow to “continue the war and keep ignoring diplomacy”.

“We must all remember: the war continues,” Zelensky added.

Ukrainian officials have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of playing for time in ceasefire negotiations mediated by the Trump administration.

After the attack on Kyiv, Zelensky said in a post on social platform X: “The pressure on Russia is still insufficient, and the daily Russian strikes on Ukraine prove it.” He added, “these attacks are Putin’s response to all international diplomatic efforts”.

While Ukraine agreed last month to accept an unconditional 30-day halt in the fighting, Russia did not. Both sides have agreed in principle to halt strikes against energy infrastructure temporarily, only to accuse each other of violating the agreement. Kyiv and Moscow also considered a ceasefire on the Black Sea last month in separate US-mediated talks but are still negotiating whether or how it will come into force. Russia asked for an easing of sanctions in exchange.

In the meantime, a Russian frigate and a Russian submarine in the Black Sea launched some of the cruise missiles fired on Sunday, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s navy, Dmytro Pletenchuk, said.

Among a small crowd standing outside the police perimeter at one missile strike site in Kyiv, the scene of smoldering, collapsed concrete fuelled anger at Russia, as attacks have throughout the war, but also at what was seen as hapless American mediation.

“The negotiations are taking place in one reality, and the war is going on in another reality in which we live,” said Maria Savchenko, whose family-owned business printing advertising posters was obliterated in the strike.

“The president of the United States doesn’t really want to understand what is happening here,” she said. Russia, she said, intended to carry on fighting.

Ukrainian officials say that, as the talks continue, Russia has shifted tactics in the missile and drone war by increasing the overall number of exploding drones and singling out certain cities for intense bombardments on some nights, rather than scattering attacks around the country.

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The Ukrainian air force said on March 30 that 4133 drones and missiles were fired that month, an increase from earlier months.

In Sunday’s attack, the air force said, Russia launched a mix of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones.

In Kyiv, the aerial assault began with exploding drones. Missiles then followed, setting off air-raid alarms through the night and early morning.

Valentyn Maidaniuk, a Kyiv resident, said he saw explosions flashing in the sky and heard buzzing from the drones’ engines as he walked to an air-raid shelter early on Sunday. In the end, he said, “I didn’t manage to sleep at all.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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