In brief
Tragic drone strikes at the Starokozache border point force the crossing’s closure, killing two people and wounding several. A separate attack on a nine‑storey Kyiv building kills a woman and injures 14, including children. In Russia, naval port Novorossiysk suffers four casualties and a nearby industrial facility fires after a drone hit. Russian forces claim 596 Ukrainian drones were shot down the night before, as diplomatic channels between Moscow, Washington and Kyiv seek peace.
Two die at Moldovan border as Russia‑Ukraine drone war rages
Russian drones struck the Starokozache border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova overnight, killing two people and injuring several others. The crossing, located roughly 500 km south of Kyiv, was shut down after the strike left several burnt‑out cars amid the debris.
Across the conflict line a woman was killed and 14 people, including two children, were wounded when a Russian drone hit a nine‑storey residential block in Kyiv. Simultaneously, in Russia’s southern port of Novorossiysk a Ukrainian‑made drone burst a cloud of flames that killed four people, one of them a child, and damaged residential buildings, a church and a preschool.
A further strike in the Arctic city of Novy Urengoy hit an industrial facility, causing a fire but sparing lives. Russian defence officials said they had shot down 596 Ukrainian drones overnight, signalling an escalation in long‑range attacks.
Amid the rising violence, diplomatic overtures have resurfaced. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently telephone‑talked with U.S. President Donald Trump about ending the war. U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff travelled to Kyiv for talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky, while the Kremlin remains hesitant to set a date for further negotiations.
