RUSSIA and Ukraine traded heavy aerial blows overnight, with both sides on Saturday reporting more than 100 enemy drones over their respective territories.
The attacks came less than 24 hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin met United States envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss details of the White House proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Ukraine.
Mr Putin told a press conference on Thursday that he supported a truce in principle but said a host of details needed further work before it could be agreed.
Kiev has already endorsed the truce proposal, although Ukrainian officials have publicly raised doubts as to whether Moscow will commit to such a deal.
Speaking to reporters in Kiev on Saturday, after virtual talks between Western allies hosted by British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, President Volodymyr Zelensky voiced Ukraine’s support for the 30-day full ceasefire proposal to discuss a longer-term peace plan, but said Russia would attempt to derail talks with conditions and “buts.”
Sir Keir has told allies to “keep the pressure” on Mr Putin to back a ceasefire and that the Russian leader will “sooner or later have to come to the negotiating table.”
The United States has made it crystal clear that Britain and its European partners will not be at any negotiating table. The US intends to conduct talks with Russia without their assistance.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke on Saturday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
In the call, they discussed next steps to follow up on recent meetings in Saudi Arabia and agreed to continue working towards restoring communication between the United States and Russia, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
Ukraine’s air force said on Saturday that Russia had launched a barrage of 178 drones and two ballistic missiles over the country overnight.
Some 130 drones were shot down, while 38 more failed to reach their targets.
Russia attacked energy facilities, causing significant damage, striking energy infrastructure in the Dnipropetrovsk and Odessa regions, Ukraine’s private energy company DTEK said in a statement on Saturday.
“The damage is significant. Energy workers are already working on the ground. We are doing everything possible to restore power to homes as soon as possible,” the energy firm said.
Falling drone debris in Russia’s Volgograd region sparked a fire in the Krasnoarmeysk district of the city, close to a Lukoil oil refinery, according to Governor Andrei Bocharov, who provided no further details.
No casualties were reported.