Russia launches greatest wave of strikes on Ukraine for weeks

[ad_1] Russia has launched 574 drones and 40 missiles on Ukraine in one of many heaviest bombardments in weeks, Ukrainian officers say.

One particular person was killed in a drone and missile strike on the western metropolis of Lviv, and 15 individuals had been reported wounded in an assault on the south-western Transcarpathia area.

The assaults got here as US President Donald Trump spearheads diplomatic strikes to halt the warfare, and Ukrainian Overseas Minister Andrii Sybiha mentioned the strikes highlighted why efforts to convey it to an finish had been "so crucial".

President Volodymyr Zelensky has mentioned Ukraine is able to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "in impartial Europe" - in Switzerland or Austria - and he's not towards Istanbul both.

Zelensky has said his willingness to fulfill Putin in "any format", though he has poured chilly water on the thought of assembly him in Budapest, which he mentioned "just isn't straightforward as we speak".

The prospect of direct talks emerged after Trump met Putin in Alaska, after which hosted Zelensky and European leaders on the White Home on Monday.

The US president initially recommended trilateral talks involving him, Putin and Zelensky, however has since recommended he won't participate: "Now I feel it could be higher in the event that they met with out me... If vital, I will go."

Ukraine's air drive counted 614 drones and different missiles fired by Russia in a single day into Thursday and mentioned it had stopped 577 of them. It's the greatest air assault since July.

Whereas Russian strikes are inclined to concentrate on jap areas near the entrance strains, the newest assaults hit western areas as effectively. The international minister mentioned hypersonic, ballistic and cruise missiles had been among the many weapons used.

The Ukrainian air drive mentioned most of the assaults got here from western Russia, in addition to from the Black Sea and one missile from Russian-occupied Crimea.

In Lviv, the place one particular person was killed, three extra had been injured in assaults that broken greater than 20 civilian buildings together with residential houses and a nursery.

One other 15 individuals had been injured when cruise missiles hit a US electronics agency within the far south-western city of Mukachevo in Transcarpathia, not removed from Ukraine's borders with Hungary and Slovakia.

"One of many missiles struck a serious American electronics producer in our westernmost area, resulting in severe injury and casualties," Sybiha wrote on social media on Thursday. The plant produces espresso machines and different family items, say officers.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Zelensky mentioned there was nonetheless no sign from Moscow that they "actually intend to interact in substantive negotiations" to finish the warfare.

He additionally made clear his lack of enthusiasm for Budapest as a number for potential talks on Thursday, citing Prime Minister Viktor Orban's robust ties with Moscow: "I am not saying that Orban's coverage was towards Ukraine, however it was towards supporting Ukraine."

The concept of the Hungarian capital as a possible venue for peace talks has emerged in current days and Hungarian Overseas Minister Peter Szijjarto mentioned Budapest was prepared to supply "appropriately honest and protected circumstances".

The Ukrainian chief additionally mentioned that Russian forces had been massing on the southern entrance line within the Zaporizhzhia area - certainly one of 4 areas of Ukraine that Russia now claims as its personal.