Putin invites Zelensky to Moscow as Russia mounts massive overnight attack on Kyiv

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is welcome to travel to Moscow for peace talks, even as Kyiv endured a massive overnight assault that Ukrainian officials said involved more than 500 drones and missiles and damaged energy and civilian infrastructure.

Ukrainian authorities reported widespread strikes on the capital and surrounding regions, including damage to key rail lines used for civilian and military logistics. State emergency crews responded to fires and power outages triggered by the strikes, and officials warned of continued disruptions to transportation and energy services.

Putin made the invitation to Zelensky in comments to the state-owned TASS news agency while attending a large military parade in Beijing alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping. Putin said he had "never refused" a meeting with Zelensky and added, "If Zelenskyy is ready for a meeting, let him come to Moscow," according to TASS.

The offer came as the capital suffered one of its most intense recent waves of attacks. Ukrainian officials said air defenses engaged dozens of incoming targets overnight and emergency services worked to contain damage to residential areas, energy installations and railway infrastructure. The strikes also hit logistics hubs that Ukraine uses to move supplies and personnel.

Zelensky has repeatedly called for direct talks with Putin as a test of Russian willingness to end the war, but Moscow has repeatedly rejected such meetings, at times characterizing the Ukrainian president as an illegitimate leader. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha criticized the latest proposal, saying publicly that asking Zelensky to enter Moscow would amount to requiring the Ukrainian president to place himself in enemy territory.

Diplomatic and security experts note the practical and political hurdles a meeting in Moscow would present for Kyiv, including concerns about safety, optics and the absence of agreed terms or guarantees for talks. No arrangements for a meeting between the two leaders were announced following Putin's remarks.

The strikes came amid heightened tensions internationally, with world powers continuing to call for a reduction in hostilities and for diplomacy to resume. Kyiv and its Western partners have increasingly framed attacks on critical infrastructure as attempts to sap Ukraine's ability to sustain its defenses and civilian life, while Moscow states its military actions are aimed at military targets and at degrading Ukraine's capacity to fight.

Ukrainian officials said investigations into casualties and the full extent of infrastructure damage were ongoing, and emergency services continued repair and restoration efforts. Kyiv has repeatedly said it remains open to negotiations but insists that any talks must respect Ukraine's sovereignty and be conducted on impartial ground or under mutually agreed conditions.

As of Thursday morning, there was no confirmation from Moscow that a meeting date or framework had been proposed beyond Putin's public invitation, and diplomatic channels offered no immediate indication that any high-level bilateral contact would take place in the near term.