Ukraine-Russia War: Escalating Air Attacks and Diplomatic Efforts

Kyiv’s air raid alerts have reached their highest level since the war began in February 2022, as Russia ramps up its targeting of the Ukrainian capital, according to a report.

Moscow’s new strategy of increasing daytime attacks on the city has forced it to drive up the frequency of its daily air raid alerts, BBC Verify reported in an analysis of Ukrainian government figures.

Residents have been forced to head to the shelters as often as 13 times a day, the analysis said.

Moscow has heavily targeted Kyiv in recent weeks as both sides look to push through a stalemate which has seen the war drag on, nearing the four-and-a-half year mark.

Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested that Ukraine is preparing for another winter at war with Russia despite hosting president Donald Trump’s peace envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Kyiv yesterday.

Lauding their “very substantive” conversation, Zelensky said Ukraine was ready for trilateral talks involving Russia, the US and Ukraine.

Trump’s son-in-law Kushner and Witkoff met with Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday, after holding three hours of talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Saturday in Moscow.

The US president is expected to speak to Putin and Zelensky over the phone on Monday.

At least 11 people have been killed and six others injured after an avalanche in Russia. The avalanche hit a group of climbers in the Kabardino-Balkaria region in the North Caucasus on Sunday. It swept down Mount Mizhirgi, one of the area’s highest peaks, around 5pm local time (2pm GMT), hitting a group of 33 climbers, emergency services said.

Russian forces have attacked Ukraine with 92 drones overnight into Monday, the Ukrainian air force has said in its daily update. Kyiv’s air force shot down or jammed 71 of the drones, while 12 locations were struck, it said.

Donald Trump is set to hold phone calls with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, according to a report. The US president will first speak with the Russian president before speaking to Mr Zelensky.

North Korea and Russia opened their first road bridge on Monday, Russia's TASS state news agency reported. The structure spans the Tumen river and is located near the “Friendship Bridge”. Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin said the bridge should spur development between the two countries.

One person was killed and another injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, local authorities said this morning.

At least one person was killed and four others were injured in Russia's Perm region after a Ukrainian drone attack caused damage to a residential building, Dmitry Makhonin, the regional governor said this morning.

A meeting in Moscow on Saturday involving US envoys lasted more than three hours behind closed doors and ended without announcements of any breakthroughs. Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, described them afterward as constructive, frank, and useful but didn’t discuss specific outcomes.

At least 1,540 Russian troops have been killed or wounded in the past 24 hours, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said. The total combat losses for Russia have now crossed approximately 1,497,980 personnel, it added.