Russia and Ukraine Report Overnight Attacks as US Envoys Push for Ceasefire
Russia and Ukraine reported intensive overnight drone and missile attacks on Friday as United States envoys continued a diplomatic push to broker a ceasefire.
The Ministry of Defence in Moscow said that it intercepted 1,198 Ukrainian drones overnight across more than 15 regions. The strikes targeted oil infrastructure, according to the Russian reports.
Attacks in Volgograd in southern Russia killed four people and injured two others after hitting an industrial area, regional Governor Andrei Bocharov said. Volgograd hosts a major oil refinery, and unverified social media videos purported to show the facility on fire.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that 467 drones hit the Russian capital overnight, according to the RIA Novosti news agency. In Kyiv, a hospital treating civilians caught fire after a Russian drone strike at approximately 3:00 am local time, leaving one person injured.
Reporting from the hospital, Al Jazeera’s Audrey MacAlpine said the building was severely damaged and said that many residents had evacuated their homes amid the strikes. Ukrainian emergency officials reported six additional people injured in the southeastern Zaporizhia district.
In southern Ukraine, the port city of Odesa faced ongoing Russian attacks that began early Friday morning. The city’s military administration reported at least two deaths.
The Russian Defence Ministry said that it targeted a cargo ship in the Black Sea transporting weapons and military equipment for Ukrainian forces, according to the TASS news agency.
The military escalations coincided with diplomatic efforts led by United States envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. Negotiators from Russia and Ukraine met in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday and Wednesday, agreeing on a major prisoner exchange but failing to reach a consensus on ending the war.
Territory and security guarantees remain major obstacles to a deal. Russia reiterated demands to control the entirety of Ukraine’s Donbas region, alongside broader European security requirements including calls for Finland to leave NATO and for the alliance to restrict troop deployments in the Baltic region.
The US envoys met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday, then briefed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Dublin before a meeting of European leaders on Friday. Kushner said late on Thursday that Putin agreed to include Europe in the negotiations.
“We cannot conclude this deal without the Europeans being at the table,” Kushner said.
“I think it is self-explanatory that Europe is included in the peace talks to safeguard our interests, but also to support Ukraine,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Dublin.
European leaders faced internal coordination challenges regarding the appointment of a lead negotiator ahead of expected talks next week. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials expressed concern that Moscow is using European participation to distract from its refusal to surrender occupied territory.
The Kremlin stated on Friday afternoon that it has not yet agreed to include European mediators in the ongoing discussions. “Once we understand their real intentions and their willingness to contribute to the peace process, then we can make a decision on holding talks in an expanded format,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.