Mutual Attacks Between Russia and Ukraine Following Talks

SadaNews - Both Russian and Ukrainian authorities reported that their countries have faced significant military attacks, occurring simultaneously with ongoing American-Ukrainian-Russian talks aimed at ending the war between the two countries.

On Saturday, the governor of the Russian border region of Belgorod, Vyacheslav Gladkov, stated that Ukrainian forces launched a massive attack on the main town in the region, causing damage to energy infrastructure.

Gladkov described the attack in a post on Telegram as "the largest bombing of Belgorod town", stating, "Energy sites were damaged, a building caught fire, and a crew from the Ministry of Emergency Situations is dealing with the blaze".

He added, "Debris from a downed drone caused a fire in the yard of one building", and the downing of another drone resulted in damage to houses in a nearby village.

The Most Intense Attack in Weeks

For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the wave of Russian attacks on his country on Saturday night as the most intense in weeks.

Zelensky stated via Telegram, "Russia launched a massive attack on our regions overnight, deploying 370 combat drones and 21 missiles of various types".

Ukrainian authorities reported that 5 people were killed and more than 20 injured in Russian shelling targeting the capital Kyiv and the Kharkiv and Dnipro regions, noting that Kharkiv was the most affected due to attacks on energy infrastructure.

Zelensky remarked that the focus of the Russian attacks on the energy sector emphasizes the need to strengthen Ukraine's defensive capabilities by speeding up the acquisition of air defense systems.

Fruitful Talks

These military developments coincide with what have been described as fruitful talks in the Emirates, where an American official anticipated a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Zelensky in light of progress in the negotiations.

The official added that an agreement was reached to begin a new round of American-Ukrainian-Russian talks today, Sunday, describing this as a good sign.

TASS news agency reported a Russian diplomat stating that the issue of territory remains the most challenging, while Zelensky mentioned that the concluded round was fruitful, focusing mainly on the fate of the Donbas region.

Source: Al Jazeera