KYIV: Thousands of people in central Ukraine were left without electricity on Tuesday following a countrywide Russian attack involving more than 130 drones that damaged critical infrastructure. Kyiv and Moscow have recently escalated cross-border drone and missile attacks despite a US-led proposal for a 30-day ceasefire to Russia's attack of Ukraine. The governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, which the Kremlin claims as part of Russia, said around 3,000 people were cut off from the grid following the attack, which he said damaged critical infrastructure. The governor of the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region, on which Russian forces have been closing in, said the barrage resulted in a fire at another critical infrastructure facility.
In Kyiv, authorities said the debris from a downed Russian drone landed in the courtyard of a school at the beginning of the school day. Pupils were in shelters at the time of the attack, they added. The Ukrainian air force said it had downed 63 out of 137 Russian drones. Russia's defence ministry meanwhile said that 46 Ukrainian drones used in overnight attacks had been neutralised.
The strikes, which targeted several regions of Russia, wounded six people, according to local authorities. The attacks came shortly before Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump were due to hold talks on a potential ceasefire to the fighting in Ukraine. Russia's forces occupy swathes of its neighbour's territory.
The 46 Ukrainian drones were "destroyed or intercepted" over the regions of Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk near the Ukraine border, as well as over Orlov, the ministry said. In the city of Belgorod, a man was seriously wounded by falling drone debris, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. Five people were wounded in Kursk when drones struck near a truck transporting bread, interim governor Alexander Khinstein posted on Telegram.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will hold a highly-anticipated phone call on Tuesday to discuss the Ukraine war, with Kyiv and its European allies demanding that Russia agree to an unconditional US-proposed ceasefire.
Washington and Moscow have expressed optimism about recent talks but it remains to be seen if Trump can convince Putin to agree to a US-proposed 30-day ceasefire, more than three years into Russia's attack. Kyiv has agreed to halting fighting, but Putin instead set a string of conditions, with European countries criticising him for not committing to an immediate ceasefire. Many in Europe worry Trump -- who has for years expressed admiration for Russia -- will cede to Putin's demands.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the leaders will discuss Ukraine and the "normalisation" of US-Russia ties, with Trump's previous call to Putin ending the Kremlin chief's isolation during the Ukraine attack.
Kyiv urged Russia on Tuesday to accept to the ceasefire. "It is time for Russia to show whether it really wants peace," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said. "We expect the Russian side to unconditionally agree to this proposal."
Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky has warned Putin does not want peace and is trying to achieve a better position militarily ahead of any halt in fighting. Putin has said that a ceasefire only benefits Kyiv and Moscow hinted on Tuesday that it was sceptical. "It's been a week since the moment of the (ceasefire) proposal," Putin aide Yuri Ushakov told the Kommersant newspaper. "And what do we see? The biggest Ukrainian drone attack on Russian territory in history," he said, referring to an attack on the Moscow region last week. But Ushakov added that "we are not losing hope", adding: "They (Putin and Trump) need to speak." Russia has attacked Ukraine with near daily barrages of drones and missiles for more than three years, occupying swathes of southern and eastern Ukraine and pressing a grinding advance in recent months.
Ukraine said Russia attacked with 137 drones ahead of the call, with Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko saying some debris fell on a school in the capital. Zelensky said over the weekend that any discussions over territory should take place at the negotiating table only after a ceasefire. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
