Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for another round of peace negotiations with Russia next week, just hours after deadly Russian attacks were reported across Ukraine, reports RTE.
Two earlier meetings held in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine failed to bring any closer a ceasefire agreement, though they did lead to large-scale prisoner swaps and agreements to return fallen soldiers’ remains.
“Security Council Secretary Umerov… reported that he had proposed the next meeting with the Russian side for next week,” Mr Zelensky said in his evening address, reports RTE.
“The momentum of the negotiations must be stepped up,” he added, reports RTE.
Mr Zelensky repeated his willingness to meet directly with Vladimir Putin. “A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace – lasting peace,” he said.
This appeal comes after Russian strikes killed three people in different parts of Ukraine, according to local officials. Meanwhile, a drone attack by Ukraine forced Russia to temporarily halt train services in its southern Rostov region overnight, reports RTE.
In recent months, Russia has intensified both long-distance aerial bombardments and frontline attacks, in defiance of US President Donald Trump’s warnings that more severe sanctions could follow if peace is not achieved.
Two people were killed when a Russian missile struck the central Dnipropetrovsk region, a key industrial zone where Russian forces have recently made gains, reports RTE.
Regional governor Sergiy Lysak said the attack destroyed “an outpatient clinic, a school and a cultural institution” in the Vasylkivska township. Several homes and cars were also damaged in the strike.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that air defences had intercepted a drone heading for the Russian capital.
“The Defence Ministry’s air defence forces shot down a drone attacking Moscow. Emergency services specialists are working at the site where the debris fell,” he said on Telegram, reports RTE.
Russian authorities temporarily stopped rail services in the Rostov region for about four hours overnight following a Ukrainian drone strike that injured a railway employee.
The disruption left many passengers stuck, with widespread delays across the network in the region, which borders Ukraine and where air traffic has been suspended since the war began three years ago, reports RTE.
In a separate statement, Russia’s military claimed it had intercepted 349 drones and six guided bombs on Saturday alone.
Earlier, a wave of 20 drones launched by Russia struck the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, killing at least one person overnight, according to the city’s mayor, reports RTE.
“Civilian infrastructure was damaged as a result of the attack. A residential high-rise building is on fire” and rescuers were pulling people out, mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov wrote on Telegram.
Odesa, a Black Sea port city listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site and famed for its scenic streets and 19th-century architecture, continues to be a frequent target of Russian strikes, reports RTE.
On Friday, the European Union approved its 18th round of sanctions against Russia, this time focusing on banks and reducing the cap on oil exports, aiming to limit Moscow’s capacity to finance the war, reports RTE.
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