Russian drones target two Ukrainian cities, killing at least one person

Russian drones have slammed into two Ukrainian cities, killing at least one person in nighttime attacks, authorities said.

The assault targeted the southern port city of Odesa and the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, hitting apartment blocks, officials said on Friday.

The barrage of more than 20 drones injured almost two dozen civilians, including girls aged 17 and 12, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The strikes came as a Kremlin official said he expected an announcement next week on dates for a fresh round of direct peace talks.

“Russia continues its tactics of targeted terror against our people,” Mr Zelensky said on messaging app Telegram, urging the US and the European Union to increase economic pressure on Moscow.

Russia has shown no sign of relenting in its attacks, more than three years after it invaded its neighbour. It is pressing a summer offensive on parts of the 620-mile front line and has kept up long-range strikes that have hit civilian areas.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that the date for the next round peace talks is expected to be agreed next week.

Kyiv officials have not recently spoken about resuming talks with Russia, last held when delegations met in Istanbul on June 2, though Ukraine continues to offer a ceasefire and support US-led diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.

The two rounds of brief talks yielded only agreements on the exchange of prisoners and wounded soldiers.

A fire caused by Russia’s nighttime strike on Odesa engulfed a four-storey residential building, which partly collapsed and injured three emergency workers.

A separate fire spread across the upper floors of a 23-storey high-rise, leading to the evacuation of around 600 residents.

In Kharkiv, at least eight drones hit civilian infrastructure, injuring four people including two children, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Service.

Russia launched 80 Shahed and decoy drones overnight, Ukraine’s air force said, claiming that air defences shot down or jammed 70 of them.