The China Mail - Russia strikes across Ukraine as peace prospects flounder

Despite a recent flurry of international efforts to broker a truce in the three-and-a-half-year conflict, led by US President Donald Trump, there have been no signs of a let-up in fighting on the ground.

Ukrainian rescue services said on Telegram that overnight strikes on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia had killed at least one person and wounded at least 25.

Three children aged between nine and 16 were admitted to hospital.

Russia confirmed it had launched overnight attacks, saying they were against "military" targets.

Zaporizhzhia regional governor Ivan Fedorov said residential buildings were hit and scores of homes left without gas or electricity.

The cities of Dnipro and Pavlograd in the central region of Dnipropetrovsk also came under attack early on Saturday, causing fires, regional governor Sergiy Lysak wrote on Telegram, warning residents to take cover.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Dnipropetrovsk had been largely spared from intense fighting.

Ukraine's air force said the Russian army had launched 582 drones and missiles overnight, most of which it had downed.

Zelensky, who has been pushing for a peace summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said a total of 14 regions had been targeted overnight.

He accused the Kremlin of using "the time meant for preparing a leaders'-level (peace) meeting to organise new massive attacks", and called for more international sanctions on Moscow and its backers.

Ukraine's army general staff meanwhile said its forces had hit two oil refineries in Russia, which it said were supplying fuel to Russian military units.

It said they had struck the Krasnodarsky refinery in Krasnodar Krai and the Sizransky refinery in Samara, causing a fire near the latter.

Russia for its part said its forces had taken a new village, Komyshuvakha, in the eastern Donetsk region.

- 'Tough measures' -

The latest strikes by both sides followed a Russian attack on Kyiv on Thursday, in which at least 25 people died, including four children. Around 50 others were wounded.

The assault -- the deadliest attack on the capital in months -- led the European Union, Britain and Sweden to summon the Russian ambassadors in their capitals to protest.

Zelensky said Ukraine needed more action from the international community.

"This war won't stop with political statements alone... The only way to reopen a window of opportunity for diplomacy is through tough measures against all those bankrolling the Russian army and effective sanctions against Moscow itself -- banking and energy sanctions."

Defence Minister Denys Shmygal announced the US State Department had approved the sale of Patriot air defence systems for Ukraine for an estimated cost of $179.1 million and satellite communications services worth $150 million.

And following Thursday’s attack on Kyiv, France and Germany said they had agreed to send additional air-defence hardware to Ukraine.

Trump met Putin in Alaska earlier this month to discuss ending the hostilities, and hosted Zelensky and European leaders at the White House last week.

But efforts to end the war appear to have lost steam, and Moscow has played down the likelihood of a Putin-Zelensky summit.

The Kremlin said on Thursday Russia wanted to "achieve our goals through political and diplomatic means" but would continue attacks until then.

Turkey, which hosted peace talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators earlier this year, said on Thursday Moscow had scaled back its previous demands.

It now wanted Ukraine to cede all of its eastern Donbas region, but would be willing to freeze the conflict in the south of the country along current front lines, the Turkish foreign minister said.

Russia occupies around one-fifth of Ukraine's territory and says it had unilaterally annexed five of the country's regions -- Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea.

G.Tsang--ThChM