KYIV, Ukraine: Russia fired more than 500 drones and two dozen missiles at Ukraine overnight, authorities said Wednesday, as Ukraine’s president and European leaders pressed on with talks on how to strengthen Ukrainian defenses and boost as-yet unsuccessful US-led peace efforts.
The main Russian nighttime targets were civilian infrastructure, especially energy facilities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, as another winter approaches three years after Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor. The attacks targeted mainly western and central Ukraine and wounded at least five people, the Ukrainian air force said.
Russia’s aerial assaults that hit civilian areas and its army’s drive to crush Ukrainian defenses along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line have not abated in recent months, despite US President Donald Trump’s attempts to stop the fighting. While Zelensky has accepted Trump’s proposals for a ceasefire and face-to-face peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin has voiced reservations.
Putin said Wednesday he believed “that if common sense prevails, it is possible to agree on an acceptable option for ending the conflict,” adding that Trump has “a sincere desire” to find a settlement.
