Casualties in Russian Attack on Ukraine as America Acknowledges Negotiation Difficulties

SadaNews - Three people were killed and another injured early Thursday in a nighttime Russian drone attack in southern Ukraine, while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged the difficulties of U.S.-brokered talks to end the war.

The governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, Ivan Fedorov, stated that the Russian raids killed two women and a man and injured another, destroying homes and causing fires.

Ukrainian authorities reported that airstrikes targeted various regions of Ukraine on Tuesday and Wednesday, resulting in 16 deaths across the country.

Ukraine has been subjected to ongoing Russian attacks that have led to power outages during the peak of winter, while Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are seeking a settlement based on a U.S. plan to end the nearly four-year-long conflict.

In response, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday that air defense systems had destroyed nine Ukrainian military drones over Russian territory overnight.

The statement added that four drones were destroyed over the Rostov region, two over the Bryansk region and Crimea, and one over the Voronezh region.

Negotiation Round

A new round of talks is expected to be held next Sunday, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday that the United States may join new negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv this week, while the issue of land in eastern Ukraine remains the main obstacle.

Rubio added that work is ongoing to resolve the issue of the Donetsk region in the negotiations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized that his country will seize all of the Ukrainian Donbas region, which Russian forces control 90% of, by force unless Kyiv concedes it through a peace agreement.

In turn, Kyiv has asserted that it will not concede to Russia any territories it cannot control. Polls indicate that Ukrainians reject making territorial concessions.

Source: AFP