Ukraine, Russia drone strikes after latest peace talks

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4 days ago

Ukraine and Russia have launched drone strikes against each other within hours of finishing the latest round of direct talks aimed at ending nearly three and half years of war.
Ukrainian drones hit southern Russian Black Sea areas, killing one person, injuring another and hitting an oil storage depot.
Russian forces staged the latest in a series of mass attacks on Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa, triggering several fires in residential and other buildings.
Emergency officials in Russia's Krasnodar region on the Black Sea said on the Telegram messaging app that debris from a falling drone struck and killed a woman in Adler district near the resort city of Sochi.
A second woman was being treated in hospital for serious injuries.
The administrative head of the Sirius federal district, south of Sochi, said a drone hit an oil base, but gave no further details.
Russia's Rosaviatsia aviation authority said operations were suspended at Sochi airport for about four hours.
In Odesa, Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said two floors of a multi-storey apartment building had been set ablaze. Other fires broke out on the roof of a two-storey residence, in kiosks and at a petrol station.
The city's historic centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was also hit, he said.
Kiper said details on casualties were being compiled.
Negotiators from the two sides had earlier discussed further prisoner swaps at a brief session of peace talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul, but the sides remained far apart on ceasefire terms and a possible meeting of their leaders.
Meanwhile the US State Department has approved $US322 million ($A489 million) in proposed weapons sales to Ukraine to enhance its air defence capabilities and provide armoured combat vehicles, as the country works to fend off escalating Russian attacks.
The approvals come weeks after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed a pause on other weapons shipments to Ukraine to allow the Pentagon to assess its weapons stockpiles, in a move that caught the White House by surprise.
"We have to," Trump said. "They have to be able to defend themselves. They're getting hit very hard now. We're going to send some more weapons — defensive weapons primarily."
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the US has provided more than $US67 billion ($A102 billion) in weapons and security assistance to Kyiv.
Since Trump came back into office, his administration has gone back and forth about providing more military aid to Ukraine, with political pressure to stop US funding of foreign wars coming from the isolationists inside the Trump administration and on Capitol Hill.
The US has routinely pressed for allies to provide air defence systems to Ukraine. But many are reluctant to give up the high-tech systems, particularly countries in Eastern Europe that also feel threatened by Russia.
with DPA
Ukraine and Russia have launched drone strikes against each other within hours of finishing the latest round of direct talks aimed at ending nearly three and half years of war.
Ukrainian drones hit southern Russian Black Sea areas, killing one person, injuring another and hitting an oil storage depot.
Russian forces staged the latest in a series of mass attacks on Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa, triggering several fires in residential and other buildings.
Emergency officials in Russia's Krasnodar region on the Black Sea said on the Telegram messaging app that debris from a falling drone struck and killed a woman in Adler district near the resort city of Sochi.
A second woman was being treated in hospital for serious injuries.
The administrative head of the Sirius federal district, south of Sochi, said a drone hit an oil base, but gave no further details.
Russia's Rosaviatsia aviation authority said operations were suspended at Sochi airport for about four hours.
In Odesa, Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said two floors of a multi-storey apartment building had been set ablaze. Other fires broke out on the roof of a two-storey residence, in kiosks and at a petrol station.
The city's historic centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was also hit, he said.
Kiper said details on casualties were being compiled.
Negotiators from the two sides had earlier discussed further prisoner swaps at a brief session of peace talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul, but the sides remained far apart on ceasefire terms and a possible meeting of their leaders.
Meanwhile the US State Department has approved $US322 million ($A489 million) in proposed weapons sales to Ukraine to enhance its air defence capabilities and provide armoured combat vehicles, as the country works to fend off escalating Russian attacks.
The approvals come weeks after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed a pause on other weapons shipments to Ukraine to allow the Pentagon to assess its weapons stockpiles, in a move that caught the White House by surprise.
"We have to," Trump said. "They have to be able to defend themselves. They're getting hit very hard now. We're going to send some more weapons — defensive weapons primarily."
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the US has provided more than $US67 billion ($A102 billion) in weapons and security assistance to Kyiv.
Since Trump came back into office, his administration has gone back and forth about providing more military aid to Ukraine, with political pressure to stop US funding of foreign wars coming from the isolationists inside the Trump administration and on Capitol Hill.
The US has routinely pressed for allies to provide air defence systems to Ukraine. But many are reluctant to give up the high-tech systems, particularly countries in Eastern Europe that also feel threatened by Russia.
with DPA
Ukraine and Russia have launched drone strikes against each other within hours of finishing the latest round of direct talks aimed at ending nearly three and half years of war.
Ukrainian drones hit southern Russian Black Sea areas, killing one person, injuring another and hitting an oil storage depot.
Russian forces staged the latest in a series of mass attacks on Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa, triggering several fires in residential and other buildings.
Emergency officials in Russia's Krasnodar region on the Black Sea said on the Telegram messaging app that debris from a falling drone struck and killed a woman in Adler district near the resort city of Sochi.
A second woman was being treated in hospital for serious injuries.
The administrative head of the Sirius federal district, south of Sochi, said a drone hit an oil base, but gave no further details.
Russia's Rosaviatsia aviation authority said operations were suspended at Sochi airport for about four hours.
In Odesa, Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said two floors of a multi-storey apartment building had been set ablaze. Other fires broke out on the roof of a two-storey residence, in kiosks and at a petrol station.
The city's historic centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was also hit, he said.
Kiper said details on casualties were being compiled.
Negotiators from the two sides had earlier discussed further prisoner swaps at a brief session of peace talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul, but the sides remained far apart on ceasefire terms and a possible meeting of their leaders.
Meanwhile the US State Department has approved $US322 million ($A489 million) in proposed weapons sales to Ukraine to enhance its air defence capabilities and provide armoured combat vehicles, as the country works to fend off escalating Russian attacks.
The approvals come weeks after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed a pause on other weapons shipments to Ukraine to allow the Pentagon to assess its weapons stockpiles, in a move that caught the White House by surprise.
"We have to," Trump said. "They have to be able to defend themselves. They're getting hit very hard now. We're going to send some more weapons — defensive weapons primarily."
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the US has provided more than $US67 billion ($A102 billion) in weapons and security assistance to Kyiv.
Since Trump came back into office, his administration has gone back and forth about providing more military aid to Ukraine, with political pressure to stop US funding of foreign wars coming from the isolationists inside the Trump administration and on Capitol Hill.
The US has routinely pressed for allies to provide air defence systems to Ukraine. But many are reluctant to give up the high-tech systems, particularly countries in Eastern Europe that also feel threatened by Russia.
with DPA
Ukraine and Russia have launched drone strikes against each other within hours of finishing the latest round of direct talks aimed at ending nearly three and half years of war.
Ukrainian drones hit southern Russian Black Sea areas, killing one person, injuring another and hitting an oil storage depot.
Russian forces staged the latest in a series of mass attacks on Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa, triggering several fires in residential and other buildings.
Emergency officials in Russia's Krasnodar region on the Black Sea said on the Telegram messaging app that debris from a falling drone struck and killed a woman in Adler district near the resort city of Sochi.
A second woman was being treated in hospital for serious injuries.
The administrative head of the Sirius federal district, south of Sochi, said a drone hit an oil base, but gave no further details.
Russia's Rosaviatsia aviation authority said operations were suspended at Sochi airport for about four hours.
In Odesa, Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said two floors of a multi-storey apartment building had been set ablaze. Other fires broke out on the roof of a two-storey residence, in kiosks and at a petrol station.
The city's historic centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was also hit, he said.
Kiper said details on casualties were being compiled.
Negotiators from the two sides had earlier discussed further prisoner swaps at a brief session of peace talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul, but the sides remained far apart on ceasefire terms and a possible meeting of their leaders.
Meanwhile the US State Department has approved $US322 million ($A489 million) in proposed weapons sales to Ukraine to enhance its air defence capabilities and provide armoured combat vehicles, as the country works to fend off escalating Russian attacks.
The approvals come weeks after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed a pause on other weapons shipments to Ukraine to allow the Pentagon to assess its weapons stockpiles, in a move that caught the White House by surprise.
"We have to," Trump said. "They have to be able to defend themselves. They're getting hit very hard now. We're going to send some more weapons — defensive weapons primarily."
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the US has provided more than $US67 billion ($A102 billion) in weapons and security assistance to Kyiv.
Since Trump came back into office, his administration has gone back and forth about providing more military aid to Ukraine, with political pressure to stop US funding of foreign wars coming from the isolationists inside the Trump administration and on Capitol Hill.
The US has routinely pressed for allies to provide air defence systems to Ukraine. But many are reluctant to give up the high-tech systems, particularly countries in Eastern Europe that also feel threatened by Russia.
with DPA