Five killed in Russian strikes on Ukraine as peace talks stall amid Middle East conflict | World News

At least five people have been killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine, with a further 18 wounded, officials have said.

Four of the deaths were in the Kyiv region, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia targeted energy infrastructure with around 430 drones and 68 missiles.

Mykola Kalashnyk, the head of the area’s regional administration, said 15 people were injured, with three of those in a critical condition.

Russia’s defence ministry said the nighttime attacks targeted energy and industrial facilities serving Ukraine’s armed forces, as well as military airfields.

Another person was killed, and a further three wounded, when Russian-guided bombs hit a residential area in the city of Zaporizhzhia, authorities said.

It comes as US-brokered peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are on hold, as Washington focuses on its military action in Iran.

While Moscow has condemned the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, it has stopped short of offering military support to its longstanding ally – and stands to benefit from the conflict.

Russia is already profiting from the surge in global energy prices and may hope that the war in the Middle East will detract attention from Ukraine and force NATO allies to reduce military support for Kyiv.

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Mr Zelenskyy said in a social media post on Saturday that “Russia will try to exploit the war in the Middle East to cause even greater destruction here in Europe, in Ukraine”.

“We must be fully aware of the real level of the threat and prepare accordingly, namely: in Europe, we need to develop the production of air defense missiles – especially those capable of countering ballistic threats – as well as all other systems necessary to truly protect lives,” he wrote.