Kyiv has proposed to Moscow a new round of peace talks next week, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday, hours after Russian strikes across Ukraine claimed more lives.

Two rounds of talks in Istanbul between Moscow and Kyiv have failed to result in any progress towards a ceasefire, instead yielding large-scale prisoner exchanges and deals to return the bodies of killed soldiers.

“Security Council Secretary Umerov… reported that he had proposed the next meeting with the Russian side for next week,” Zelensky said in his evening address. “The momentum of the negotiations must be stepped up,” he added.

Zelensky reiterated his readiness to have a face-to-face sitdown with Putin. “A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace – lasting peace,” he said.

At talks last month, Russia outlined a list of hardline demands, including calls for Ukraine to cede more territory and to reject all forms of Western military support.

Kyiv dismissed them as unacceptable and at the time questioned the point of further negotiations if Moscow was not willing to make concessions.

The Kremlin said earlier this month it was ready to continue talks with Ukraine after US President Donald Trump gave Russia 50 days to strike a peace deal or face sanctions.

Trump also pledged to supply Kyiv with new military aid, sponsored by NATO allies, as its cities suffer ever-increasing Russian aerial attacks.

Russia has escalated long-range aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities as well as frontline assaults and shelling over recent months, defying Trump’s warning.

Most lately on Saturday, it had fired missile and drone strikes that killed three people across Ukraine.

Two people died after a Russian missile hit Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, an important industrial hub, into which Russia’s forces have recently advanced.

An earlier Russian salvo of 20 drones on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa killed at least one person overnight.

Russia had to suspend trains for about four hours overnight, causing extensive delays in the southern Rostov region, when it came under a Ukrainian drone attack that wounded one railway worker.

Moscow and Kyiv are menacing each other with swarms of cheap drones to overwhelm each other’s air defence, as the warring sides said on Saturday they had intercepted hundreds of drones, now launched in large amounts almost daily.

As part of the Istanbul agreements, Kyiv received 1,000 soldiers’ bodies on Thursday, while Russia said it had received 19 from Ukraine.

The European Union on Friday agreed an 18th package of sanctions on Moscow that targets Russian banks and lowers a price cap on oil exports, in a bid to curb its ability to fund the war.

Ha Long Bay: A boat carrying tourists capsized during a sudden thunderstorm in Vietnam on Saturday afternoon during a sightseeing excursion, killing 34 people, state media reported. Eight others remain missing.

The Wonder Sea boat was carrying 48 passengers and five crew members — all of them Vietnamese — during the tour of Ha Long Bay, a popular destination for visitors, according to the reports. Rescue workers saved 11 people and recovered the dead near the site of the capsizing, VNExpress newspaper said. Authorities had earlier reported that 12 people had been rescued, but later revised the figure to 11.

The boat turned upside down because of strong winds, the newspaper said. A 14-year-old boy was among the survivors, and he was rescued four hours after being trapped in the overturned hull. The newspaper said that most of the passengers were tourists, including about 20 children, from Hanoi, the country’s capital. A tropical storm is also moving toward the area. A national weather forecast said that Storm Wipha is expected to hit Vietnam’s northern region, including Ha Long Bay’s coast, next week.

Read More

Russia has launched a massive overnight drone and missile attack on Ukraine, killing at least one person. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said over 300 drones and 30 cruise missiles were fired during the attack overnight into Saturday, with Odesa heavily targeted. The city’s mayor said one person died and five were rescued from a fire in a high-rise building. Six others, including a child, were wounded. Critical infrastructure in the Sumy region was also damaged. Analysts note Russia has intensified its drone attacks with barrages now surpassing previous records in scale and frequency.

Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine overnight into Saturday with hundreds of drones, killing at least one person, part of a stepped-up bombing campaign that has dashed hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the more than 3-year-old war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on X that Russia fired over 300 drones, along with more than 30 cruise missiles.

One person died in the Black Sea port city of Odesa, which was hit with more than 20 drones and a missile, Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov wrote on Telegram, while five people were rescued when a fire broke out in a residential high-rise building.

According to Zelenskyy, six other people were wounded in the attack on Odesa, including a child, and critical infrastructure was damaged in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.

The Ukrainian president also thanked international leaders “who understand how important it is to promptly implement our agreements” aimed at boosting Ukraine’s defense capabilities, including joint weapons production, drone manufacturing and the supply of air defense systems.

Russia has been intensifying its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities. It now often batters Ukraine with more drones in a single night than it did during some entire months in 2024, and analysts say the barrages are likely to escalate. On July 8, Russia unleashed more than 700 drones — a record.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down 71 Ukrainian drones overnight into Saturday. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that 13 drones were shot down as they approached the Russian capital.

In other developments, Ukraine’s foreign minister accused Russia on Saturday of deporting Ukrainian citizens into Georgia and leaving them stranded without proper identification.

Andrii Sybiha said Moscow has escalated the practice of expelling Ukrainians — many of whom are former prisoners — across its southern border with Georgia, instead of returning them directly to Ukraine.

“Dozens of people, many of whom lack proper documentation, have been stuck in the transit zone,” he wrote on X. There was no immediate response from Moscow.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Russia launched more than 300 drones and over 30 missiles towards different cities in Ukraine overnight into Saturday morning, killing at least one person and injuring several others, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

“Rescue operations are underway following the attack: the Donetsk, Kirovohrad, Dnipro, Sumy, Kherson, Volyn, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Odesa, and Zhytomyr regions were affected,” he wrote on X.

The Black Sea port city of Odesa came under fire by 20 drones and a missile, the city’s mayor Hennadii Trukhanov, said Saturday on Telegram.

The strike sparked a fire in an apartment block. Five people were rescued from their burning apartments, including one woman who died after she was rescued. At least six other people, including a child, were injured.

Meanwhile in Sumy, critical infrastructure was damaged and thousands of families were left without electricity, according to Zelenskyy.

Russia also launched a barrage of drones at Pavlohrad, damaging critical infrastructure and a residential building. According to the head of the Dnipro regional military administration, it was the largest attack on the city since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The Ukrainian president thanked international leaders “who understand how crucial it is to promptly implement our agreements” aimed at boosting Ukraine’s defense capabilities, including joint weapons production, investment in drone manufacturing and the supply of air defence systems.

In recent weeks, Russia has been intensifying its long-range attacks on Ukraine, often firing more drones in a single night than it did during some months in 2024. Analysts have warned the attacks are likely to escalate further.

On 8 July, Russia fired a record-breaking number of more than 741 drones and missiles.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down 71 Ukrainian drones overnight, of which 13 drones were shot down as they approached Moscow, according to the city’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin.