Russia has bombarded Ukraine early this morning, killing two people in the Kyiv region, authorities said on the eve of a diplomatic summit in France.
A countrywide siren was issued just after midnight, while Ukraine's military said air defences were operating in several places.
In the capital, a private medical facility caught fire as a result of the Russian strikes, killing one person and wounding three others, the State Emergency Service of Kyiv said. It released images of rescuers removing people on stretchers from a gutted building.
Another pre-dawn attack on the neighbouring city of Fastiv killed one man in his 70s, according to Kyiv regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk.
The strikes caused power outages in the area, with backup systems activated to maintain water and heating supplies, the official said, as temperatures dropped to -8C.
Russian missiles damage energy infrastructure in Kharkiv, mayor says
Meanwhile, five missiles struck Ukraine's second biggest city Kharkiv, causing "very serious damage" to energy infrastructure, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
"This is not just an attack on facilities. It's an attack on heating, on water, on people's normal lives.
"They are trying to break us with fear and darkness," he said on Telegram, without specifying the targets that had been hit.
Kharkiv, with over a million inhabitants, is located close to the border with Russia.
The attacks came on the eve of a meeting of European leaders in Paris as they seek a breakthrough on a peace plan Kyiv says is "90 percent" ready.
To lay the groundwork, security advisers from 15 countries, including Britain, France and Germany as well as representatives from NATO and the European Union, gathered in Kyiv over the weekend.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff joined the talks virtually, a Ukrainian official told AFP, though the United States' large-scale military attack on Venezuela earlier in the day overshadowed proceedings.
Another preparatory meeting, between chiefs of staff, is scheduled for later today.
Diplomatic efforts to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II have gained pace in recent weeks, though both Moscow and Kyiv remain at odds over the key issue of territory in a post-war settlement.
Russia, which occupies around 20% of Ukraine, is pushing for full control of the country's eastern Donbas region as part of a deal.
But Kyiv has warned that ceding ground will embolden Moscow and said it will not sign a peace deal that fails to deter Russia from invading again.
Trump refutes strike on Putin home
Bombarded daily and losing ground, Ukraine has responded with its own drone attacks launched towards Russian territory, targeting in particular energy infrastructure that funds the war effort.
Russia's defence ministry said it has downed Ukrainian drones targeting the Moscow region every day of 2026, and claims to have shot several hundred - an unusually high number - over the weekend.
The Kremlin published a video of a downed drone it said Ukraine had launched at the home of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Novgorod region, adding that the property was not damaged and the leader was elsewhere at the time.
Kyiv refuted the allegation, and its European allies expressed scepticism.
Asked about it yesterday, US President Donald Trump said that "something" had happened near Mr Putin's residence, but after reviewing the evidence, American officials did not believe it had been targeted by Ukraine.
"I don't believe that strike happened," Mr Trump said in response to a reporter's question aboard Air Force One.
Russia has also accused Kyiv of firing drones at a hotel and cafe in the Moscow-held part of Ukraine's southern Kherson region early Thursday, killing what it said were 28 people celebrating the New Year. Ukraine says it was a military gathering.
Moscow accuses Kyiv of being insincere in its peace efforts, while Ukraine says Russia is trying to scupper the diplomatic momentum to end the conflict.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, describing it as a "special military operation" to prevent the expansion of NATO.
Russia made bigger advances on the battlefield last year than any other year since it launched its invasion, according to an AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War.
Head of Ukraine's security service Maliuk to be replaced, Zelensky says
Mr Zelensky said he planned to replace the head of the country's SBU security service, Vasyl Maliuk, as part of a wider reshuffle that has also seen a new presidential chief of staff.
Mr Maliuk was appointed SBU chief in February 2023, having already served as acting head for months before.
During his tenure, the service has carried out a number of high-profile operations, including an audacious drone attack on dozens of Russian strategic bombers stationed thousands of kilometres from Ukraine.
The SBU said he also oversaw a strike on a Russian submarine and three attacks on the bridge connecting Russia to the occupied Crimean peninsula, a crucial logistical node for Moscow.
Mr Maliuk has been praised by analysts for improving the SBU's effectiveness, after his predecessor Ivan Bakanov was dismissed by Mr Zelensky in July 2022, for failing to root out Russian spies.
The Ukrainian president said on X that he had asked Mr Maliuk instead to focus more on combat operations, adding: "There must be more Ukrainian asymmetric operations against the occupier and the Russian state, and more solid results in eliminating the enemy."
The move comes days after Mr Zelensky announced military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov would become his new chief of staff, and that he would seek to appoint new defence and energy ministers.
