Zürcher Nachrichten - Ukraine says 'massive' Russian drone attacks hit Kyiv, Odesa

Moscow has kept up its attacks on Ukraine, which has hit back with strikes deep inside Russian territory, while peace talks held over the weekend failed to yield a breakthrough towards ending the three-year war.

Aside from an agreement to exchange prisoners, progress has stalled and Russia has repeatedly rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire.

"Russia lies every day about its desire for peace and attacks people every day. Time to impose sanctions. Time to support Ukraine with weapons. Time to prove that democracy has power," Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential office, said on Telegram.

A 59-year-old man was killed in the Russian strikes on residential buildings in Odesa on Tuesday, and at least four others were wounded, said Governor Oleg Kiper.

"The enemy massively attacked Odesa with strike drones. There is damage to civilian infrastructure and fires," Kiper wrote on Telegram.

"The Russians hit a maternity hospital, an emergency medical ward and residential buildings," he said, adding the maternity hospital had been evacuated in time.

In central Kiev, an AFP journalist heard at least a dozen explosions, anti-aircraft fire and the buzzing of drones.

"Stay in shelters! The massive attack on the capital continues," Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram, adding in a separate post around 3:00 am (0000 GMT) that "a new batch of UAVs (drones) is flying to the capital".

Four people were wounded in the attacks that hit at least seven districts, he said, with buildings and cars on fire.

- Prisoner swap -

Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine triggered the biggest European conflict since World War II, forcing millions to flee their homes and decimating much of eastern and southern Ukraine.

Ukrainian cities are targeted by Russian air strikes almost daily. On Sunday, Russia launched a record 479 explosive drones at Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

Kyiv has also carried out attacks on Russian territory, targeting transport and weapons production infrastructure.

Russia's transport agency Rosaviatsia said on Tuesday that flight operations were temporarily restricted at Saint Petersburg's Pulkovo airport.

Similar restrictions were imposed on at least 13 other airports overnight, with four in Moscow reopening on Tuesday.

Despite efforts by US President Donald Trump to reach a ceasefire agreement, a second round of peace talks in Turkey are at a standstill.

The only concrete agreement reached at the talks over the weekend was for release all seriously wounded or sick prisoners of war and those under the age of 25 -- a deal that did not specify the number of soldiers involved.

While welcoming POW exchanges, Zelensky said last week said it was "pointless" to hold further talks with the current Russian delegation -- who he previously dismissed as "empty heads" -- since they could not agree to a ceasefire.

On Sunday, the Russian army also claimed to have attacked the Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk, which borders the regions of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, already partially under Russian control, a first in more than three years of conflict.

"Time for everyone to finally accept the fact that Russia understands only strikes, not rational words," Ukraine's Yermak said on Tuesday, in a thinly veiled criticism of the Trump administration.

As a condition for halting its invasion, Russia has demanded that Ukraine cede the territories Moscow claims to have annexed and forswear joining NATO.

It has also rejected a proposed 30-day unconditional ceasefire sought by Kyiv and the European Union, arguing that it would allow Ukrainian forces to rearm with Western deliveries.

Ukraine is demanding a complete Russian withdrawal of from its territory and security guarantees from the West, describing Moscow's demands as "ultimatums".

G.Kuhn--NZN