"The big question remains, is Russia really willing to concede or to agree to an honest peace plan?" one analyst told NBC News.

Russia has carried out some of the heaviest attacks on Kyiv in months, using an estimated 500 drones and 40 missiles, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In ‍a ⁠statement, DTEK said it had restored electricity to 748,000 households in Kyiv and 347,000 outside the city. It added that consumers on Kyiv's right bank were back to planned ​power cuts but that the situation remained "more difficult" on the left bank, where emergency outages were still in force.

The latest strikes came less than 48 hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signaled that a peace deal was close

An air alert lasted several hours after loud overnight explosions. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.