Russia And Ukraine Trade Deadly Strikes As Zelensky Travels To Istanbul For Talks With Erdogan

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia and Ukraine traded deadly strikes overnight into Saturday morning, sidesplitting 10 group and wounding respective twelve more, officials connected some sides said.

The attacks came arsenic Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Istanbul for talks pinch Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He will besides meet pinch Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, nan belief leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians.

“We are moving to fortify our business to guarantee nan existent protection of lives, beforehand stability, and guarantee information successful Europe and nan Middle East. Joint efforts ever output nan champion results,” Zelensky said successful a station connected nan messaging app Telegram aft arriving successful Istanbul.

Russia fired 286 drones astatine Ukraine overnight, 260 of which were downed, nan Ukrainian aerial unit said successful an online connection Saturday.

Three women and 2 men were killed successful nan metropolis of Nikopol successful Dnipropetrovsk province, and 19 different group were wounded, according to nan caput of nan location subject administration, Oleksandr Hanzha. The onslaught damaged marketplace stalls and a shop.

In nan metropolis of Sumy, adjacent nan Russian border, a onslaught wounded 11 people, Ukraine’s National Police said. Residential areas were hit, and houses, cars and inferior networks were damaged.

In nan capital, Kyiv, a drone onslaught caused a occurrence connected nan first level of a three-story agency and storage building, nan State Emergency Service of Ukraine said. No casualties were reported.

In nan partially occupied Donetsk region, a Russian drone onslaught deed a civilian car connected nan Kostyantynivka–Druzhkivka roadworthy connected Saturday morning, sidesplitting 1 female and wounding different person, according to nan caput of nan Kostyantynivka metropolis Military Administration, Serhiy Horbunov.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday that its forces had fired “long-range air- and ground-based precision weapons, arsenic good arsenic onslaught drones” astatine unspecified “military-industrial and power accommodation utilized by nan Ukrainian Armed Forces.”

Meanwhile, nan Russian-installed caput of nan occupied Luhansk region, Leonid Pasechnik, said Ukrainian forces deed railroad infrastructure successful nan region arsenic good arsenic houses, sidesplitting a family of 3 — a mates and their 8-year-old child.

The Security Service of Ukraine, besides known arsenic nan SBU, said it utilized drone strikes to target accumulation astatine a metallurgical works successful nan Russian-occupied metropolis of Alchevsk successful nan Luhansk region, astir of which is controlled by nan Russian forces.

The SBU said connected its Facebook page that drone strikes damaged blast furnaces, cardinal accumulation workshops, distillation columns, state pipelines and electrical substations that powerfulness nan plant, which supplies Russia’s authorities vessel and railroad car plant, Uralvagonzavod.

There was nary contiguous remark from Russian officials.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that nan Russian subject overnight changeable down 85 Ukrainian drones complete 9 Russian regions, nan annexed Crimea region of Ukraine and nan Black Sea.

In Russia’s Rostov region, connected nan separator pinch Ukraine, 1 personification was killed and 4 sustained injuries, according to nan region’s governor, Yuri Slyusar. The onslaught sparked a occurrence astatine a storage installation of an unspecified logistics institution and different occurrence connected a dry-cargo alloy flying a overseas emblem respective miles from nan shore, Slyusar said.

In Tolyatti, a metropolis successful Russia’s Samara region, 1 personification was wounded, Gov. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said. The tile of a residential building was damaged and windows were shattered successful respective apartments, he said.

Yurchuk writes for nan Associated Press.