Ukraine and Russia exchange drone strikes as Brussels talks focus on reconstruction
Negotiators are meeting in Brussels to discuss postwar funding and security, while a deadly strike in southern Ukraine left 42 people dead.
By Gavin Wilson ·
Residents in southern Ukraine spent the night recovering from a deadly Russian air attack that killed 42 people. As rescue workers dug through the rubble of a former school and a nearby shelter in Komyshuvakha, Ukrainian officials said more than 30 individuals remained missing. The strike, which hit on Monday while residents waited for humanitarian aid, was one of the deadliest in the Zaporizhzhia region since the full-scale invasion began nearly five years ago.
Ukraine’s national police force confirmed the death toll of 42. Teams are using DNA samples from relatives to identify the victims. The area sits near the front line, and the impact of the guided bombs damaged critical infrastructure used by local families.
In response to the ongoing conflict, Ukraine launched hundreds of drones at targets in Russia overnight. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that its forces shot down 496 of these drones. The attack affected 13 Russian regions, the Crimean Peninsula, and the Black and Azov Seas.
More than 200 Ukrainian drones targeted the Ryazan region, located southeast of Moscow. Governor Pavel Malkov said one person was wounded by falling debris. The debris damaged power lines and sparked a fire at an industrial site. Russian media reported that the fire spread to the Ryazan oil refinery, with plumes of smoke visible against the night sky. A warehouse belonging to the retail company Wildberries also sustained damage, though the company had not yet commented on the incident.
Russian airstrikes also affected Ukraine’s eastern and central regions. Ukrainian air defenses reported shooting down or suppressing 105 of 128 Russian attack drones. Four people were wounded in the Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv regions. Regional administrator Oleksandr Hanzja said that drones struck six areas in Dnipropetrovsk, damaging infrastructure, residential homes, and garages. Three people were wounded in the city of Dnipro. In Kyiv, a strike on logistics infrastructure west of the capital caused a fire and wounded one man.
In the Russian-occupied Luhansk region, a Ukrainian strike hit a bus traveling between the regional capital and a nearby town. Leonid Pasechnik, the Moscow-backed leader of the region, said five people died and 13 were wounded. He noted that two of the injured were teenagers.
Negotiations regarding the war’s end are currently underway in Brussels. Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s lead negotiator, said the talks at NATO headquarters will continue for a second day. The discussions focus on postwar reconstruction, funding for 2027, and security guarantees backed by Western allies. Officials from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the European Union, and NATO are participating. Representatives from the World Bank and the investment group BlackRock are also in attendance.
Umerov wrote that the group discussed threats from Russia to Ukraine and Europe, as well as joint steps to counter them. Allison Hart, a NATO spokesperson, stated that the representatives would meet to discuss the path toward a just and sustainable end to the war. These meetings are taking place days before Russian, Ukrainian, and U.S. negotiators are scheduled to meet in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he held a 90-minute conversation with U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner late Wednesday. Zelenskyy posted on X that the negotiations must move forward at full speed to end the war quickly. He added that Ukraine is ready to take necessary steps and that its proposals have been shared with the American side. Jared Kushner said the talks focus on ending the war and establishing a security architecture to prevent future fighting.
Zelenskyy expressed hope that the recent U.S. midterm elections would lead to renewed support for Ukraine. In an interview with German broadcaster ZDF, he noted that he has support from both major political parties. He said the Democrats speak of renewing ties between the U.S. and Europe, a development he described as very important to Ukraine.
