After an increase in airstrikes by Russian troops on Wednesday night, new airstrikes were recorded on Thursday morning in various regions of Ukraine, mainly in the east (Dnipro and Zaporozhye), and a strong explosion was heard in the capital Kyiv, RIA Novosti reported. a witness who spoke to Reuters.

The explosion in Kyiv is also confirmed by the state news agency Ukrinform.

Oleksiy Kuleba, the head of the Kyiv regional administration, warned of the danger of airstrikes: “Stay in shelters and safe places. Threat of missile strikes,” Mr. Kuleba wrote in an emergency post.

Aleksey Arestovich, an adviser to the presidential office in Kyiv, wrote on Facebook that more than 100 missiles were flying in several waves, and air raid alerts were sounding throughout the country.

Russia’s rejection of the Ukrainian proposal

Mr. Zelensky is actively promoting a 10-point peace plan that calls on Russia to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and withdraw all of its troops. But Moscow rejected the offer on Wednesday, reiterating that Kyiv must accept Russia’s annexation of four regions – Lugansk and Donetsk in the east and Kherson and Zaporozhye in the south.

There can be no peace plan that “does not take into account the current realities on the territory of Russia, with the entry of four regions into Russia,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Zelensky’s idea to oust Russia from eastern Ukraine and Crimea with the help of the West and convince Moscow to pay reparations to Kyiv “an illusion,” RIA Novosti reported.

TASS reported that Mr. Lavrov said Russia would continue to build up its combat power and technological capabilities in Ukraine. He added that the drafted Russians had received “serious training” and while many of them were already on the ground, most had yet to make it to the front.

Collaboration for reconstruction

Also on Wednesday, Volodymyr Zelensky held talks on rebuilding his country with Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, one of the world’s largest investment firms based in New York.

During the conference call, Mr. Zelensky thanked Mr. Fink for the recommendations given to the government of Ukraine by the leadership of BlackRock on the use of funds for the reconstruction of the country after the war, the Office of the President of Ukraine said in a statement.

They discussed the prospects for investing in the Ukrainian economy and agreed to focus on coordinating the initiatives of potential investors.

They also mentioned a possible visit by BlackRock top managers to Ukraine during 2023, according to the same source.

Source: Reuters, Ukrinform, APE-MPE, CNN