A series of powerful explosions rocked the residential districts of Kyiv early on Tuesday killing almost two people, just hours before talks between Ukraine and Russia were all set to resume.

At least three large blasts were heard from the center of the capital, sending columns of smoke high into the sky.

As drawn broke the damage became clear, with one strike hitting a large 16- storey housing block.

There, a fire raged and smoke billowed from the charred husk of the building, as emergency services and stunned locals navigated on the obstacle course of glass, metal, and other debris littering the road.

“The bodies of two people were recovered, 27 people were rescued,” Ukraine’s emergency service said.

Another residential building around the Podilsk area also came under attack.

Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko posted of a fire crew extinguishing a smoldering fire there- the building’s façade transformed into a mess of bent and tangled window frames and precariously dangling air conditioning units.

Vasylenko said the district had been “a place to get coffee and enjoy life. Not anymore. Explosive hot just 30 minutes ago.”

Just a few hours earlier, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky wearing his now-signature military green crew neck issued a new video address sounding a note of cautious optimism about ongoing peace talks.

He claimed Russia was beginning to realize victory would not come on the battlefield.

“They have already begun to understand that they will not achieve anything by war,” Zelensky said.

“Pretty good, as I was told,” he said Of Monday’s first day of discussions. “But let’s see. They will continue tomorrow.”

The two sides are still far apart in the negotiations, with Moscow demanding Ukraine turn away from the West and recognize Moscow-backed breakaway regions.

The capital Kyiv is surrounded to the north and east and nearly half its population of three million people have fled. Only roads to the south remain open, city authorities have set up checkpoints and residents are stockpiling food and medicine.

The United Nations estimates almost around 2.8 million people have fled Ukraine and some 636 civilian deaths have been recorded, including dozens of children. The actual toll is likely to be far higher.