Winter storm warnings in northern Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Drone strikes killed one person in Ukraine and another in Russia, officials said Saturday, ahead of fresh talks next week aimed at ending the war.

An elderly woman died when a Russian drone hit a residential building in the Black Sea port city of Odesa, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said.

In Russia, a civilian was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on a car in the border region of Bryansk, regional Gov. Alexander Bogomaz said.

The attacks came a day after a Ukrainian missile strike on the Russian border city of Belgorod killed two people and wounded five, according to regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov.

 between envoys from Russia and Ukraine will take place next week in Geneva, days ahead of the fourth anniversary of the 

, officials in Moscow and Kyiv said on Friday.

The discussions will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s communications adviser, Dmytro Lytvyn, confirmed the new round of negotiations.

The talks take place against a backdrop of continued fighting along the roughly 750-mile 

Previous U.S.-led efforts to find consensus on ending the war, most recently 

, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, have failed to resolve difficult issues, such as the future of Ukraine’s Donbas industrial heartland that is largely occupied by Russian forces.

Speaking at the annual Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Zelenskyy repeatedly thanked American and European allies for helping Ukraine by providing air defense systems that protect infrastructure like power plants and “save lives.”

“Russian attacks happen almost every night in Ukraine and at least once a week, massive strikes,” he said, speaking in English. “Without you Americans, Europeans, and everyone who stands with us, it would have been very, very difficult to hold on.”

He reiterated his belief that security guarantees for Ukraine must come before any peace agreement with Russia.

Zelenskyy said last week that the United States has given Ukraine and Russia a 

 to reach a deal. Previous deadlines given by U.S. President Donald Trump have passed largely without consequence.

Homepage

International

The Associated Press

Author

Drone strikes killed one person in Ukraine and another in Russia on Saturday ahead of fresh U.S.-brokered peace talks. Ukrainian officials said Saturday a Russian drone hit a residential building in Odesa and killed an older woman.

Drone strikes kill 2 in Ukraine and Russia ahead of U.S.-brokered peace talks in Geneva

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox