Russia launches over 500 drones, missiles at Ukraine

Kyiv: Russia fired more than 500 drones and two dozen missiles at Ukraine overnight, authorities said Wednesday, as Ukraine’s president and European leaders persevered with talks aimed at strengthening Ukrainian defences and adding momentum to so far unsuccessful US-led peace efforts.

The main Russian nighttime targets were civilian infrastructure, especially energy facilities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as another winter approaches three years after Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbour. The attacks targeted mainly western and central Ukraine and injured at least five people, the Ukrainian air force said.

Russian aerial assaults that hit civilian areas and the Russian army’s drive to crush Ukrainian defences along the 1,000-kilometre front line have not abated in recent months, despite US President Donald Trump’s attempts to stop the fighting.