Russia Claims Five More Settlements as Ukraine Strikes Military Sites
Russia says it captured five settlements and downed hundreds of drones, while Ukraine reports strikes on Russian military facilities and damage to civilian sites near Kyiv.
Russia's Defense Ministry said on Saturday that its forces had taken control of five additional settlements over the previous 24 hours, continuing a series of territorial claims along the front line.
In its daily report, the ministry said Russian forces had struck ammunition depots, energy and transportation infrastructure, drone assembly and storage sites, and cargo ships carrying Ukrainian military supplies. It added that air defenses downed seven guided aerial bombs, a rocket from the U.S.-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, and 936 fixed-wing drones. Of those drones, 344 were intercepted over the Leningrad and Novgorod regions and the Black Sea overnight, the ministry said.
Ukraine's General Staff reported that its air defenses had neutralized three missiles and 138 drones launched by Russia overnight. Timur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, said Russian drone attacks had damaged nine civilian facilities across four districts of the region in the past 24 hours.
Ukraine also said its forces carried out overnight strikes on several Russian military facilities, including drone command posts, a training ground, and a logistics facility.
On the diplomatic front, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said the specifics of preparing the next round of trilateral talks involving Russia, the United States, and Ukraine are not currently being discussed. He expressed confidence, however, that the pause between rounds would not be prolonged.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Moscow does not rule out a new round of trilateral peace talks in October. Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has also confirmed that a new round is planned for next month.
Delegations from the three countries previously held two rounds of talks in Abu Dhabi on January 23-24 and February 4-5, followed by a round in Geneva on February 17-18, in an effort to find a path toward ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The trilateral negotiations subsequently stalled and have remained suspended.