Russia, Ukraine exchange attacks after talks

Russia and Ukraine launched drone attacks on each other early Tuesday, just hours after officials from both sides concluded their third round of face-to-face negotiations.

Russian officials reported that Ukraine launched drones targeting locations along the Black Sea coast early Tuesday. According to emergency services in the Krasnodar region, falling debris from a drone killed a woman in the Adler district, near Sochi. Another person was injured and taken to a hospital.

The head of the Sirius district administration, south of Sochi, said a drone attacked a local oil facility, but did not provide details. The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) announced that operations at Sochi Airport were suspended for about 4 hours due to the attack.

Fire at a market in Odessa, Ukraine, after an attack on 24/7. Photo: DSNS

Fire at a market in Odessa, Ukraine, after an attack on 24/7. Photo: DSNS

Ukrainian officials reported that Russia launched an attack on the city and region of Odessa. Oleh Kiper, head of the Odessa Regional Military Administration, reported fires at an apartment building in the city, as well as at several kiosks and a gas station. Ukraine is still gathering information about casualties.

The attacks occurred just hours after Russia and Ukraine concluded talks in Istanbul, Turkey. The two sides remain divided on terms related to a ceasefire, as well as the possibility of a direct meeting between their leaders.

Head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umerov, said their "number one priority is to organize a meeting between the leaders, between the presidents of the two countries." However, the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said the purpose of a summit should be to sign an agreement, not to "discuss everything from scratch."

This was the third face-to-face negotiation between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey this year and the shortest, lasting about 40 minutes.

Expert-level delegations from the two sides held two previous talks on 16/5 and 2/6, totaling less than three hours. These led to an agreement to exchange thousands of prisoners of war and the bodies of deceased soldiers, but did not achieve a ceasefire agreement as hoped.