KYIV – A Russian missile struck a front-line area in Ukraine on Saturday, resulting in the death of a child and the injury of another, according to a Ukrainian official. The announcement comes amidst ongoing uncertainty regarding Kyiv diplomats’ participation in a new round of peace negotiations that Moscow has suggested for early next week in Istanbul.
According to the Ukrainian air force, Russian forces unleashed approximately 109 drones and five missiles across Ukraine overnight and into Saturday. Air defenses successfully intercepted three of the missiles and 42 drones, while an additional 30 drones failed to hit their targets, causing no damage.
A strike on the front-line village of Dolynka in the Zaporizhzhia region resulted in the death of a 9-year-old girl and injuries to a 16-year-old, as reported by Zaporizhzhia’s Governor Ivan Fedorov.
“One house was destroyed. The shockwave from the blast also damaged several other houses, cars, and outbuildings,” Fedorov wrote on Telegram.
Moscow did not comment on the latest attack.
Meanwhile, 14 people were injured after Ukrainian drones struck apartment buildings on Saturday in the Russian town of Rylsk and the village of Artakovo in the western Kursk region, local acting Gov. Alexander Khinshtein said.
Four children were among those injured in the two attacks, which also sparked several fires, he said.
On Friday, Andrii Yermak, a top adviser to Ukraine’s president said Kyiv was ready to resume direct peace talks with Russia in Istanbul on Monday but that the Kremlin should provide a promised memorandum setting out its position on ending the more than three-year war, before the two delegations sit down to negotiate.
Speaking late Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia was “undermining diplomacy” by withholding the document.
“For some reason, the Russians are concealing this document. This is an absolutely bizarre position. There is no clarity about the format,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.
Moscow previously said it would share its memorandum during the talks.
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