KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces launched a massive drone attack on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, killing three people, including a child, and wounding dozens, officials said Thursday.

The strike late Wednesday was the latest in a string of Russian attacks that have caused civilian casualties and intensified in recent weeks, as the United States continues efforts to negotiate a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv.

Thirty people, including five children, were wounded in the attack, said Serhii Lysak, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional administration.

Local authorities said the drones caused widespread damage to civilian infrastructure, including an educational institution, a dormitory, a gymnasium and multiple residential buildings. Emergency services said the strikes started multiple fires across the city.

In a reaction to the Dnipro attack, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged allies to support his country with air defense weapons.

“Every defense package from partners for Ukraine now, every form of support from the world for our resilience, is literally protecting lives,” Zelenskyy wrote on the messaging service Telegram on Thursday. “Russia uses every day and every night to kill.”

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian delegation was in Paris for meetings with representatives of countries from the so-called coalition of the willing, including France, Germany and the U.K., said Andrii Yermak, head of the Presidential Office.

The multinational force is expected to be a long-term security guarantee to deter future Russian aggression once a ceasefire is in place.

The delegation also includes Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. Yermak said talks with U.S. representatives were also scheduled.

“We are working on important aspects for the security of Ukraine and all of Europe,” Yermak wrote on Telegram.

Ukraine and the U.S. continue working on a long-delayed minerals deal and Zelenskyy said Thursday that a memorandum of intent — not the full agreement — could be signed online later in the day as a first step, granting the U.S. access to Ukraine’s vast mineral resources.

“A few days ago, the American side proposed returning to an earlier step — a memorandum of intent — while lawyers continue working on the full agreement,” Zelenskyy said at a briefing in Kyiv. “I think this memorandum is important. It’s the first step.”

The framework of the mineral deal had stalled in February following a contentious Oval Office meeting among U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Zelenskyy. Negotiations have since resumed on a revised framework.