Russia steps up air strikes on Ukraine as US-backed peace talks intensify
New Delhi, Dec 7: Russia launched fresh air strikes across Ukraine overnight, hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky described his phone call with US negotiators as “very constructive” following three days of talks in Florida aimed at shaping a potential peace plan.
In the early hours of Sunday, the mayor of Kremenchuk, a major industrial centre in central Ukraine, reported a “massive combined strike” on the city’s infrastructure.
While no deaths had been confirmed, parts of the city were left without water, electricity and heating.
Kremenchuk, located between Kyiv and the eastern frontline, has been repeatedly targeted since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
RUSSIA SHOOTS DOWN 77 UKRAINIAN DRONES
Russia, meanwhile, claimed to have shot down 77 Ukrainian drones across several regions.
The renewed aerial attacks came as diplomatic efforts gathered momentum.
Zelensky said he remained “determined” to work with Washington after speaking with Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and the US president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who led detailed discussions with Ukrainian officials in Miami.
Talks focused on mechanisms to ensure Russia complies with any future peace agreement. Despite stepped-up engagement, a breakthrough remains elusive.
The White House is pushing both Kyiv and Moscow to agree to a multipoint plan to end the conflict, but divisions persist, including between the US and some European allies.
France, Germany, and the UK have signalled reservations about earlier versions of the US proposal, advocating instead for stronger long-term security guarantees for Ukraine, including a possible peacekeeping force.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he had spoken to Zelensky and expressed France’s “full solidarity,” adding that Paris would work with partners to “secure de-escalation measures and impose a ceasefire.”
Macron, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Zelensky are expected to meet in London on Monday.
Starmer has championed the idea of a “coalition of the willing”, a group of Ukraine’s allies committed to supporting Kyiv’s defence even in the event of a ceasefire, to deter another Russian assault.
