A Russian missile strike killed at least five people in Zaporizhzhia, while the White House confirmed it has delivered a draft peace proposal to Kyiv and Moscow.
ZAPORIZHZHIA — While diplomats in Washington draft peace plans, Russian missiles continue to fall on Ukrainian cities. A new attack ordered by President Vladimir Putin has left at least five dead in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, casting a shadow over the latest diplomatic push to end the war.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched a total of 115 drones of various types overnight, including nearly 70 Shahed attack unmanned aerial vehicles. While air defenses managed to neutralize 95 of them, 19 impacted different locations across the country, causing damage to civilian and residential infrastructure in the regions of Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Odesa.
The most deadly strike occurred in Zaporizhzhia, where Russian aerial bombs hit residential buildings and other civil infrastructure, killing five people in the last few hours.
The violence comes at a critical diplomatic juncture. The White House confirmed on Thursday that it has delivered a peace plan to Ukraine, drafted over the last month and backed by President Donald Trump. The proposal, according to spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, aims to “achieve a lasting peace” through an agreement acceptable to both parties.
Leavitt explained in a press conference that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have held talks with delegations from Russia and Ukraine to “understand what they would commit to.”
“We are holding constructive conversations with both sides regarding ending this war,” Leavitt stated. She added that the plan “is a good plan for both Russia and Ukraine and should be acceptable to both sides.”
U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll described his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “very optimistic.” Zelensky confirmed receiving the U.S. plan officially. According to the Ukrainian presidency, it was agreed to “work on the points of the plan in a way that allows for a dignified end to the war.”
“Ukraine has been striving for peace since the first seconds of the invasion and we support any meaningful proposal that can bring real peace closer,” the statement from Kyiv highlighted.
However, the draft plan reportedly contains sensitive aspects, such as the cession of a large part of the Donbas region to Russia—territory currently occupied by Russian troops—and a substantial reduction in the capabilities and size of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It would also include Kyiv’s renunciation of long-range weapons.
The White House underscored that the Trump administration is “working hard to make it happen,” citing the “historic success” the president achieved in the Middle East as a precedent for potential diplomatic breakthroughs in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
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