As diplomatic efforts to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine continue four people are killed in a Russian attack
As diplomatic efforts to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine continue, four people are killed in a Russian attack.
According to authorities, a Russian missile attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro resulted in four fatalities and forty injuries.
Unconfirmed sources claim a ballistic missile was employed in the strike, which took place on Monday morning.
Online videos showed a massive explosion on the side of a freeway, and local media said that shops, cars, and an office block were struck or severely damaged.
Dnipro, which is roughly 100km (62 miles) from the front line, has repeatedly fallen under Russian shelling since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The incident came a day before US special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for discussions aimed at ending the crisis in Ukraine. Witkoff has visited the Russian president numerous times this year, but has never travelled to Kyiv.
On Sunday, a Ukrainian team met Witkoff, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in Florida.
Zelensky stated on Monday that the talks had been "very constructive" but that there were some "tough issues" to be worked through - mirroring Rubio's comments that the meeting had been "productive" but that there was "more work to be done".
Following weeks of intense "shuttle diplomacy" in which Russian and Ukrainian delegations met separately with US officials to discuss a peace proposal, the Florida meeting was the most recent development.
However, despite attempts, Moscow and Kyiv's viewpoints continue to disagree significantly.
Russia has refused to back down from its primary demand that Ukraine retreats from the regions of the Donbas region it still holds, which Kyiv claims it will never do.
Vladimir Putin declared, "We'll achieve this by force of arms if they don't withdraw." In response, Zelensky remarked that Russia "scorned" efforts "to truly end the war".
Matters surrounding Ukraine's future security are also a cause of controversy. Kyiv and its European allies are eager for Ukraine to receive security guarantees, like membership in NATO, that would shield it from future attacks.
However, Donald Trump has also ruled out permitting Ukraine to join the military alliance, and Russia is adamantly against this.
Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelensky has landed in Paris to rally support from French President Emmanuel Macron, and will fly to Ireland on Tuesday.
In recent weeks, worry has grown in Kyiv and among Europeans that the US was becoming more sympathetic to Russia's demands than Ukraine's, and that Europe was being sidelined from the bargaining table.
A corruption scandal has also undermined Zelensky's political standing at home. Despite not being charged, his chief of staff Andriy Yermak, who had also led the Ukrainian delegation during peace negotiations, resigned on Friday following a raid on his residence by anti-corruption investigators. Additionally, two cabinet ministers were dismissed.
On Sunday Trump told reporters on Air Force One that Ukraine had "some difficult little problems", referring to the controversy, and reaffirmed his opinion that both Russia and Ukraine wanted to end the war.
Since Russia invaded on February 24, 2022, thousands of civilians and tens of thousands of military have been killed or injured, and at least seven million people have become refugees.
The dispute between the two ex-Soviet governments extends back to 2014 when Ukraine's pro-Russian president was deposed and Russia retaliated by annexing Crimea and supporting military revolutions in eastern Ukraine.
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