Zelensky open to meeting with Putin, drone attacks on Kiev and Odessa

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a press conference after talks with Donald Trump at the UN that he is ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and that the White House chief of staff can help organize a trilateral meeting. Zelensky asked the US president for a package of military equipment for the winter, including Patriot anti-missile systems and other technologies. Trump himself had sent a message to Putin: "Put an end to the war." EU agreement on sanctions against Russia, but without the oligarchs. Kiev protests: "A shame".

Kiev's city rail service has been suspended due to a drone attack on the capital at dawn. Attacks and fires were reported in several neighborhoods. This was stated by the mayor of Kiev Vitali Klitschko, as reported by the local media. According to initial reconstructions, debris from crashed drones fell between residential buildings and on the premises of a transport company in the Solomianskyi district, where a fire broke out. Drones also hit and destroyed two petrol stations in different areas of Kiev. 161 drones were used in raids on various Ukrainian regions.

A Russian attack on a cargo ship in the port of Odessa in southern Ukraine has resulted in the death of the captain, according to Ukrainian authorities. “The enemy targeted a merchant ship sailing under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda,” said the governor of the Odessa region, Oleg Kiper. The ship's commander, he added, was a Ukrainian citizen.

In the Holosiivskyi neighborhood of Kiev, a Russian drone hit a gas station. As reported by Ukrinform, the mayor of Kiev Vitali Klitschko announced it on Telegram. Also in the same neighborhood, a warehouse was damaged and a fire broke out following a drone attack, while in the Solomyanskyi neighborhood, debris from another drone fell in the area between residential buildings.

Another shopping center in Zaporizhzhia was hit by a Russian attack last night, causing a huge fire. This was reported by RBC Ukraine, quoting the head of the regional military administration, Mykhailo Semikin. The attack affected the Amstor shopping center in the Pivdennyi district, which houses, among others, a playground, a Jysk store and other commercial activities. Semikin initially reported that there were no casualties, but later announced that two men were injured and are receiving medical assistance.