Russia unleashes massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine as diplomatic talks continue

KYIV Ukraine AP Russia unleashed a major missile and drone barrage on Ukraine overnight into Saturday while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported he had a substantive phone call with American functionaries engaged in talks with a Ukrainian delegation in Florida aimed at ending the nearly -year war Russia used drones and missiles in the wide-reaching overnight attack on Ukraine which triggered air raid alerts across the country and came as Ukraine marked Armed Forces Day the country s air force stated Saturday morning Ukrainian forces shot down and neutralized drones and missiles the air force declared adding that locations were struck At least eight people were wounded in the attacks Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko mentioned Among these at least three people were wounded in the Kyiv region according to local executives Drone sightings were released as far west as Ukraine s Lviv region Nuclear plant temporarily cut off from power Russia carried out a massive missile-drone attack on power stations and other vitality infrastructure in several Ukrainian regions Ukraine s national vigor operator Ukrenergo wrote on Telegram Ukraine s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant temporarily lost all off-site power overnight the International Atomic Power Agency commented Saturday citing its Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi The plant is in an area that has been under Russian control since early in Moscow s invasion of Ukraine and is not in arrangement but it demands reliable power to cool its six shutdown reactors and spent fuel to avoid any catastrophic nuclear incidents Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that ability facilities were the main targets of the attacks also noting that a drone strike had burned down the train station in the city of Fastiv located in the Kyiv region Russia s Ministry of Defense disclosed its air defenses had shot down Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight into Saturday Russian Telegram news channel Astra mentioned Ukraine struck Russia s Ryazan Oil Refinery sharing footage appearing to show a fire emerging out and plumes of smoke rising above the refinery The Associated Press could not independently verify the video The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces later reported Ukrainian forces had struck the refinery Ryazan regional Gov Pavel Malkov explained a residential building had been damaged in a drone attack and that drone debris had fallen on the grounds of an industrial facility but did not mention the refinery Months of Ukrainian long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries have aimed to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it necessities to pursue the war Meanwhile Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia is trying to cripple the Ukrainian power grid and deny civilians access to heat light and running water for a fourth consecutive winter in what Ukrainian leaders call weaponizing the cold Slow progress on agreeing safety framework The latest round of attacks came as U S President Donald Trump s advisers and Ukrainian bureaucrats revealed they ll meet for a third day of talks on Saturday in Florida after making progress on finding agreement on a precaution framework for postwar Ukraine Zelenskyy explained Saturday that he had been given an update over the phone by U S and Ukrainian officers at the talks Ukraine is determined to keep working in good faith with the American side to genuinely achieve peace Zelenskyy wrote on social media Following Friday s talks the two sides had also offered the sober assessment that any real progress toward any agreement ultimately will depend on Russia s readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace The declaration from U S special envoy Steve Witkoff Trump s son-in-law Jared Kushner as well as Ukrainian negotiators Rustem Umerov and Andriy Hnatov came after they met for a second day on Friday They offered only broad brushstrokes about the progress they say has been made as Trump pushes Kyiv and Moscow to agree to a U S -mediated proposal to end nearly four years of war Separately executives revealed the leaders of the United Kingdom France and Germany would participate in a meeting with Zelenskyy in London on Monday Follow AP s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https apnews com hub russia-ukraine