By Basant El-Faramawy
Russia and Ukraine exchanged damaging overnight airstrikes Thursday as negotiations on post-war reconstruction and security guarantees resumed at NATO headquarters in Brussels. The talks, entering a second day, involve officials from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, the European Union, NATO, the World Bank, and U.S. investment firm BlackRock.
Deadly strikes underscore reconstruction scale
Rescue teams continued searching for more than 30 people believed trapped in the wreckage of a former school and shelter hit by Russian guided bombs on Monday in Komyshuvakha, near the front line in the Zaporizhzhia region. Ukraine's national police said 42 bodies have been recovered, with identification efforts using DNA samples ongoing. The strike occurred as residents awaited humanitarian aid and was described as one of the deadliest in the area since the full-scale invasion began nearly five years ago.
Brussels talks focus on funding and security
Ukraine's lead negotiator Rustem Umerov said discussions covered threats from Russia to Ukraine and Europe, as well as joint countermeasures. NATO spokesperson Allison Hart confirmed representatives would meet again to discuss a just and sustainable end to the war. The meetings precede planned talks in Abu Dhabi involving negotiators from Russia, Ukraine, and the United States.
Zelenskyy engages U.S. negotiators
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a 90-minute conversation Wednesday with U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Zelenskyy urged negotiations to move at full throttle to end the war quickly, stating Ukraine is ready to take necessary steps. Kushner said talks focus on ending the war and building a broader security architecture to prevent future conflict.
Russian drones wound four in Ukraine
Ukrainian air defenses shot down or suppressed 105 of 128 Russian attack drones overnight and into Thursday. Russian strikes wounded four people in the Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv regions. In Dnipro, three people were wounded and infrastructure, homes, and garages damaged. A strike on logistics infrastructure west of Kyiv caused a fire and wounded one man.
Ukrainian drones target Russian regions
Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 496 Ukrainian drones over 13 Russian regions, the annexed Crimean Peninsula, and the Black and Azov Seas. More than 200 drones targeted the Ryazan region southeast of Moscow, wounding one person and damaging power lines. Russian media reported a blaze at the Ryazan oil refinery and damage to a Wildberries warehouse.
