Ukraine war: Russian strikes kill 25 as Zelensky pursues peace talks in Turkey
Amid the ongoing attacks and new peace talks, Moscow declined to comment on a US media report of a secret Russian-US plan to end the war
Russia pummelled Ukrainian cities with missiles and drones overnight, killing at least 25 people and throwing doubt over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s attempts to “reinvigorate” the peace process with talks in Ankara later on Wednesday.
“Twenty-five people, including three children, were killed as a result of Russian shelling of the city. Another 73 people, including 15 children, were wounded,” the country’s interior ministry said on social media, updating earlier tolls from one of the deadliest strikes on the west of the country since Russia invaded in February 2022.
Authorities warned the death toll could rise further.
Zelensky touched down in Turkey on Wednesday morning for a trip that had seemed to raise the prospects of a revival in stalled diplomatic efforts to broker an end to Russia’s invasion.
But Moscow’s wave of overnight attacks was the latest in an intensifying campaign targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and hitting a number of civilian sites as winter approaches.
The strikes hit two multi-storey residential buildings in the western city of Ternopil, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on social media.