Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine overnight killed at least eight civilians, officials said Thursday, as Moscow’s 4½-year-long attack on its neighbour grinds on despite renewed appeals for a settlement at this week’s UN General Assembly.
A strike on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region killed six agricultural workers and wounded 12 others, Interior Minister Ihor Vyhivskyi said.
An attack on the capital Kyiv killed a man and a woman, he said, while officials in the southern port of Odesa also reported a major bombardment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed in a speech at the United Nations late Wednesday for countries to starve Russia of revenue through sanctions and trade bans, denying Moscow the money it needs to prolong the war.
He and other leaders at previous UN general assemblies have sought to pressure Moscow into giving up its ambitions in Ukraine.
But despite years of diplomatic efforts there is no sign of a breakthrough in ending a war that has had repercussions for the global food and energy supply, as well as severely straining relations between Russia and Western countries.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated Moscow’s demand for a comprehensive peace deal, not a temporary break in hostilities, following Ukraine’s call for a complete and unconditional ceasefire.
“We believe it’s necessary to seek peace, not a temporary truce,” Peskov told reporters Thursday.
Russia’s demands for Ukraine to surrender its territory, among other things, are unacceptable for Kyiv.
The aerial war has intensified in recent months. Russia keeps hammering Ukraine with cruise and ballistic missiles, powerful glide bombs and jet-powered drones, while Ukraine’s long-range drones target oil refineries and businesses that are a vital part of the Russian economy.
There have been few significant changes since last year along the roughly 1,250-kilometre (800-mile) front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, where a huge number of drones on both sides limit movement.
The attack on Kyiv damaged more than 50 civilian sites, including apartment blocks, post offices, a maternity hospital and a textile plant, Vyhivskyi, the interior minister, said.
Russia has repeatedly hit Ukrainian trains, shopping malls, supermarkets and gas stations, among other sites, keeping civilians on edge.
