Ukraine says two killed in mass Russian drone attack

Two people were killed and dozens injured in Russia’s massive overnight drone strike on Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, as U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators prepared a post-war plan in the latest round of peace talks.

Moscow is stepping up winter attacks on Ukraine’s energy system, while Kiev continues its battlefield offensive as it faces pressure from the United States to secure peace in the nearly four-year war.

Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi and Odesa regions were targeted in an attack that included more than 200 drones.

The military said 30 attacks were recorded in 15 locations.

Stating that local energy facilities have been seriously damaged as a result of Russian attacks in recent days, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said that one person was killed in Kharkiv, the second largest city.

It is not yet clear where the second person died.

Major cities, including the capital Kiev, faced power outages and heating outages; Russia is attacking the power grid, which was already disrupted by the cold, and residents are grappling with temperatures reaching -16C.

On Saturday, Zelenskiy said he had ordered imports of electricity and additional power equipment to be accelerated as much as possible.

Russia’s latest mass attack came as US and Ukrainian officials met in Miami to discuss security guarantees and a post-war recovery package for Ukraine.

Washington forced Kiev to agree on a peace framework, which it then presented to Moscow; Washington reacted coolly to diplomatic pressure and demanded major concessions from Ukraine.