Russia and Ukraine exchanged overnight airstrikes as Western officials resumed talks in Brussels on Thursday.
Ukraine’s air defences intercepted or suppressed 105 of 128 Russian drones, while Russian strikes wounded four people in Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv regions. Meanwhile, Moscow claimed to have downed 496 Ukrainian drones across 13 regions, Crimea and the Black and Azov seas. More than 200 targeted Ryazan, injuring one person, damaging power lines and sparking a fire at an industrial site. Russian media reported a blaze at an oil refinery.
In occupied Luhansk, a Ukrainian strike on a bus killed five and wounded 13, Russian-installed officials said. In Zaporizhzhia, rescue workers continued searching for more than 30 people missing after Monday’s Russian bombing in Komyshuvakha. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 43 deaths were confirmed, while one missing person was found alive.
Ukraine’s Rustem Umerov said Brussels discussions involved the US, UK, France, Germany, EU, NATO, World Bank and BlackRock. Ahead of planned US-Russia-Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi, Zelenskyy also spoke with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
The EU separately released 4.36 billion euros from a 90-billion-euro loan to support Ukraine’s defence and public services.