KYIV, Ukraine, Dec 27, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Russia pummelled Ukraine's capital Kyiv with drones and missiles on Saturday, killing one woman and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, ahead of President Volodymyr Zelensky's latest talks with US leader Donald Trump.

Zelensky said the attack showed Russia did not want to end its invasion launched in February 2022 that has left tens of thousands dead.

Ahead of the Ukraine president's talks in Florida with Trump on Sunday, Russia said Kyiv and its EU backers were trying to "torpedo" a US-brokered plan to stop the fighting.

On top of the fatality, the barrage of drones and missiles wounded dozens and cut power and heating to hundreds of thousands of Kyiv region residents in freezing temperatures, Ukraine authorities said.

Zelensky said some 500 drones and 40 missiles pounded the capital and its surrounding region. He questioned Russia's intentions to end the war.

"Russian representatives engage in lengthy talks, but in reality, Kinzhals and 'shaheds' speak for them," he said, referring to the Kinzhal ballistic missiles and the Shahed drones used in Russia's daily strikes.

"They do not want to end the war and seek to use every opportunity to cause Ukraine even greater suffering and increase their pressure on others around the world," he added.

AFP reporters heard loud explosions, some accompanied by bright flashes that turned the sky orange, in the attack that lasted for 10 hours.

The Russian army said it had targeted infrastructure and energy facilities "used in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine", as well as military sites, with hypersonic missiles and drones.

Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the attack left about 600,000 "consumers" without power while authorities said apartment blocks, a university dormitory and a petrol station had been among buildings hit.

- Florida talks -

Sunday's meeting to discuss new proposals comes as Trump intensifies efforts to end Europe's worst conflict since World War Two.

The new 20-point plan would freeze the war on its current front line but possibly require Ukraine to pull back troops from the east, where demilitarised buffer zones could be created, according to details revealed by Zelensky this week.

The new plan formulated with Ukraine's input is Kyiv's most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions. It is very different from an initial 28-point proposal tabled by Washington last month that adhered to many of Russia's core demands.

Trump, speaking to news outlet Politico on Friday, said of Zelensky's plan that "he doesn't have anything until I approve it". He added: "So we'll see what he's got."

Part of the plan includes separate US-Ukraine bilateral agreements on security guarantees, reconstruction and the economy. Zelensky said those were changing daily.

"We will discuss these documents, security guarantees," he said of Sunday's meeting.

"As for sensitive issues, we will discuss (the eastern region of) Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and we will certainly discuss other issues," he added.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister said Zelensky sought to "torpedo" a plan drawn up by Russian and US officials and that the new proposal "differs radically" from points initially drawn up by US and Russian officials in contacts this month.