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Ukrainian and Russian officials wrapped up a “productive” first day of new US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi, Kyiv’s lead ‌negotiator said Wednesday, as fighting in Europe’s biggest conflict since World War Two ‌raged on. The two-day trilateral meetings come after ‍Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had exploited a US-backed energy truce last week to stockpile munitions, attacking Ukraine with a record number of ballistic missiles on Tuesday. “The work was substantive and productive, focused on concrete steps and practical solutions,” Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, ‍wrote on X.Shortly after the talks began, Russian forces struck a crowded market in eastern Ukraine with cluster munitions, killing at least seven people and wounding 15, the Donetsk region’s Governor Vadym Filashkin said. Umerov said he would prepare a report for Zelensky, and talks were expected to continue on Thursday, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Photographs released earlier in the day by the United Arab Emirates’ foreign ministry showed the three delegations sitting around a U-shaped table, with US officials seated at the centre, ‌including special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Trump’s administration has pushed both Kyiv and Moscow to find a compromise to end the four-year-old war, but the two sides remain far ‍apart on key points despite several rounds of talks with US ‌officials. The most sensitive issues are Moscow’s demands that Kyiv give up land it still controls and the fate of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, which sits in a Russian-occupied area. Moscow wants Kyiv to pull its troops out of all of the Donetsk region, including a belt of heavily fortified cities regarded as one of Ukraine’s strongest defences, as a precondition for any deal. Ukraine said the conflict should be frozen along the current front line and has rejected any unilateral pullback of its forces. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Russian troops would keep fighting until Kyiv made “decisions” that could bring the war to an end. Russia currently occupies about 20% of Ukraine’s national territory, including Crimea and parts of the eastern Donbas region seized before the 2022 invasion. Analysts say Russia ​has gained about 1.5% of Ukrainian territory since ‌early 2024. “Russia is not winning its war against Ukraine,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told online media outlet Liga on Tuesday. He argued that Moscow was paying a heavy price in termsof ‍battlefield casualties and economic harm for small territorial advances. Polls show that the majority of Ukrainians oppose a deal that hands Moscow more land. Kyiv residents told Reuters on Wednesday they were sceptical that the new round of talks would bring any major breakthroughs. “Let’s hope that it will change (something), of course. But I don’t believe it will change anything now,” Serhii, 38, a taxi driver, told Reuters. “We will not give in, and ​they will not give in either.” The first round of talks was held in the UAE last month, marking the first direct public negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed their ties during a video call on Wednesday held in the run-up to the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s war in Ukraine. 

Tens of thousands of Czechs rallied in Prague Sunday to support the country's pro-Ukrainian president, who is locked in a dispute with the government's nationalist billionaire leader Andrej Babis.Organisers from the independent Million Moments for Democracy movement claim up to 90,000 people attended the demonstration, where some participants waved Czech, European and Ukrainian flags.Babis leads a government comprising his catch-all ANO party and two eurosceptic parties, the far-right SPD and the right-wing Motorists, following a general election last October.President Petr Pavel and the government have since then been embroiled in disagreement over Babis's naming of a contentious minister under investigation for rape, and over the question of whether the Czech Republic should continue supporting war-ravaged Ukraine."We are here to show the president that he is not alone -- the devil of dictatorship never sleeps and we have to stay vigilant," Alena Krotka, a pensioner who demonstrated against the communist regime in Prague on the same Wenceslas square in 1989, told AFP.On Tuesday, Pavel published short messages in which Motorists chairman and Foreign Minister Petr Macinka threatened retaliation if the president keeps refusing to name Motorists candidate Filip Turek as the environment minister.Turek, a former member of the European Parliament, is under investigation for domestic violence and rape following a complaint filed by a former girlfriend.Media have published Turek's posts on social networks, describing them as racist and misogynistic, and police also probed allegations that he owned Nazi paraphernalia and made the Nazi salute, before shelving the case."We have to stop such behaviours in high politics, this cannot go on like this," said 16-year-old student Teodor, who sported a banner praising the head of state.Pavel has refused to name Turek, saying his actions "raise doubts about his loyalty to the values set out in the Czech constitution".Macinka, now serving as both foreign and environment minister, said on Czech public TV on Sunday that he would "ignore" the president, who he said should not represent the country at the next NATO summit.The parliamentary opposition has initiated a vote of confidence for next week, which Babis's cabinet is almost certain to survive."The unprecedented blackmail of the president by Petr Macinka is absolutely unacceptable. This has no place in a democratic culture," Million Moments for Democracy said on Facebook.In 2019, the movement brought some 250,000 people to a rally against Babis serving his first term as premier, accusing him of graft and urging him to resign.It announced that a new demonstration would be organised if the recently launched petition called "We Stand Behind the President" was signed by more than a million people. It has now gathered over 622,000 signatures.In an X post, Pavel said he values people who are "willing to stand up for decency, truth, solidarity and mutual respect"."I deeply appreciate all those who do not remain indifferent to what is happening around them and who feel responsible for the state of our country," he said.Pavel and Babis also clash over Czech-made jet fighter supplies to Ukraine -- while the president sees no problem in sending four L-159 planes, the government opposes providing military aid to Kyiv and insists Prague needs the jets. 

Ukraine launched British Storm Shadow missiles and its domestically produced long-range drones to hit several Russian oil and gas facilities, Ukrainian military and security officials said Thursday.Ukraine has previously used the British-made missiles ⁠to attack Russian industrial targets ⁠that it says help Moscow's war.The Ukrainian General Staff said that the air force used Storm Shadow cruise missiles to strike the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in Russia's Rostov region."Multiple explosions were recorded. The target was hit," the General Staff said on the Telegram app Thursday.It said the refinery was one of the biggest oil product suppliers in southern Russia and was supplying diesel and jet fuel to the Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.Ukraine's SBU security service ⁠said that the locally made long-range drones hit oil product tanks in the Russian port of Temryuk in the Krasnodar region and a gas processing plant in Orenburg in southwestern Russia.The Orenburg gas processing plant, the largest facility of its kind in the world, is located about 1,400km (about 870 miles) from the Ukrainian border.In the Krasnodar region, Russian regional authorities said that two oil product tanks caught fire at the southern port of Temryuk after the drone attack.Flames covered an area of about 2,000sq ⁠m, authorities at the Krasnodar operational headquarters said on the Telegram app.As Russia's war in Ukraine approaches its four-year mark and diplomatic efforts to end it have so far failed to produce any tangible results, both Kyiv and Moscow have stepped up their drone and missile attacks on energy facilities.Kyiv has increased its strikes on Russia's oil refineries and other energy infrastructure since August as it seeks to cut Moscow's oil revenues, a key source of funding for its war effort.The Ukrainian General Staff also said that Ukrainian troops hit a military airfield in the Russian city ⁠of Maikop in the republic of Adygea in the North Caucasus region.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held high stakes talks with a Ukrainian delegation in Florida Sunday, as the United States pushes to end Russia's war against its neighbour.The negotiations come as Kyiv faces mounting military and political pressure, along with the fallout from a corruption scandal. They could set the stage for next week's visit to Moscow by President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, who is expected to discuss Ukraine diplomacy."This is not just about peace deals. It's about creating a pathway forward that leaves Ukraine sovereign, independent and prosperous," Rubio said at the start of the negotiations.Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner were also attending the meeting in Hallandale Beach, north of Miami.Ukraine's security council secretary Rustem Umerov led Kyiv's delegation, which also included Andrii Hnatov, the chief of staff of Ukraine's armed forces, and presidential adviser Oleksandr Bevz."We are discussing about the future of Ukraine, about the security of Ukraine, about no repetition of aggression of Ukraine, about prosperity of Ukraine, about how to rebuild Ukraine," Umerov said as the talks kicked off.The US talks come amid turbulence for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his government. A blockbuster corruption probe forced him to sack his chief of staff and top negotiator, Andriy Yermak, on Friday.Rubio had met with Yermak only a week ago during another round of talks in Geneva that both sides hailed as "constructive."In a separate post on the platform X, Umerov said he was in "constant contact" with Zelensky as the Florida meeting progressed."We have clear directives and priorities: safeguarding Ukrainian interests, ensuring substantive dialogue, and advancing on the basis of the progress achieved in Geneva," Umerov wrote."We are working to secure real peace for Ukraine and reliable, long-term security guarantees. The delegation will report to the president of Ukraine following the conclusion of today's meetings."Washington has put forward a plan to end the nearly four-year conflict and is seeking to finalise it with Moscow and Kyiv's approval.An initial 28-point proposal -- drafted without input from Ukraine's European allies -- would have seen Kyiv withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region and the United States de facto recognise the Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk regions as Russian.The United States pared back the original draft following criticism from Kyiv and Europe, but the current contents remain unclear.After the Florida negotiations, French President Emmanuel Macron is set to host Zelensky for talks in Paris today.Separately next week, Rubio is set to skip a meeting of Nato foreign ministers despite allies' concerns about the US plan for Ukraine. However, Witkoff is expected in Moscow to discuss Ukraine diplomacy.The flurry of diplomacy comes as the war — which has killed tens of thousands of civilians and military personnel and displaced millions of Ukrainians — shows no sign of easing.Ahead of the Florida talks, Russia's forces targeted Ukraine's capital and the region for two nights in a row as they advanced on the front line.A drone attack in the outskirts of Kyiv killed one person and wounded 11 on Saturday night, the regional governor said.Hours earlier, a Ukrainian security source said Kyiv was responsible for attacks on two oil tankers in the Black Sea that it believed were covertly transporting sanctioned Russian oil.One of Russia's largest oil terminals halted operations on Saturday following an attack by sea drones.The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), a group that includes US oil majors Chevron and ExxonMobil and which owns the terminal, called the strike a "terrorist attack".Ukraine, which did not comment on the incident, regularly targets Russian energy facilities in a bid to sap the country's war chest as the conflict grinds through its fourth year.The CPC pipeline, which begins in Kazakhstan and ends at the terminal, is a major conduit for Kazakh oil and one of the world's largest by volume, handling around one percent of global supplies. 

A meeting between US and Ukrainian officials in Florida Sunday was "very productive," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, adding that work still remains towards ending Russia's war in Ukraine."There are a lot of moving parts, and obviously there's another party involved here that will have to be a part of the equation, and that will continue later this week, when Mr. Witkoff travels to Moscow, although we've also been in touch in varying degrees with the Russian side, but we have a pretty good understanding of their views as well," Rubio told reporters.Rubio Sunday hosted high stakes talks with a Ukrainian delegation on Washington's plan to end Russia's war with its neighbour -- discussions a source close to Kyiv's team characterized as "not easy."The talks in Florida come as Kyiv faces mounting military and political pressure, along with the fallout from a corruption scandal. They could set the stage for next week's visit to Moscow by President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, who is expected to discuss Ukraine diplomacy."This is not just about peace deals. It's about creating a pathway forward that leaves Ukraine sovereign, independent and prosperous," Rubio said at the start of the negotiations.Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner were also attending the meeting in Hallandale Beach, north of Miami.Ukraine's security council secretary Rustem Umerov led Kyiv's delegation, which also included Andrii Hnatov, the chief of staff of Ukraine's armed forces, and presidential adviser Oleksandr Bevz."We are discussing about the future of Ukraine, about the security of Ukraine, about no repetition of aggression of Ukraine, about prosperity of Ukraine, about how to rebuild Ukraine," Umerov said as the talks kicked off.A source close to the Kyiv delegation, however, cautioned that "the process is not easy because the search for formulations and solutions continues." The exchanges had nevertheless been "constructive," the source said.The US talks come amid turbulence for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his government. A blockbuster corruption probe forced him to sack his chief of staff and top negotiator, Andriy Yermak, on Friday.Washington has put forward a plan to end the nearly four-year conflict and is seeking to finalize it with Moscow and Kyiv's approval.An initial 28-point proposal -- drafted without input from Ukraine's European allies -- would have seen Kyiv withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region and the United States de facto recognize the Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk regions as Russian.The United States pared back the original draft following criticism from Kyiv and Europe, but the current contents remain unclear. 

Ukrainian, US and European officials met in Geneva on Sunday to discuss a draft plan presented by Washington to end the war in Ukraine, after Kyiv and its allies voiced alarm over what they saw as major concessions to the aggressor Russia.US President Donald Trump, who has championed the 28-point plan, said on Sunday that Ukraine had not been grateful for American efforts over the war, even as US weapons continue to flow to Kyiv via NATO and Europe keeps buying Russian oil. On Friday, Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had until Thursday to approve the plan, which calls on Ukraine to cede territory, accept limits on its military and renounce ambitions to join NATO.For many Ukrainians, including soldiers fighting on the front lines, such terms would amount to capitulation after nearly four years of fighting in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two. On Saturday, Trump said the current proposal for ending the war is not his final offer.With the U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the main talks between US and Ukrainian officials got under way in Geneva on Sunday afternoon in a stiff atmosphere at the US mission, soon after Trump complained in a Truth Social post that Ukraine's leadership had shown "zero gratitude" to the U.S. for its efforts and Europe continued to buy Russian oil.Since the U.S. plan was announced, there has been confusion about who was involved in drawing it up. European allies said they had not been consulted. As officials began meeting, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the goal was to craft a plan acceptable to Ukraine which could be used in a negotiation with Russia. "Right now, I'm not yet convinced we're going to get the solution President Trump wants in the next few days," Merz said on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Johannesburg.Before heading to Geneva, Rubio insisted on X that Washington had authored the plan after remarks from some US senators suggesting otherwise. Senator Angus King said Rubio had told senators the plan was not the administration's position, but "essentially the wish-list of the Russians." Europeans have submitted a modified version of the US plan for Ukraine that pushes back on proposed limits to Kyiv's armed forces and territorial concessions, according to a document seen by Reuters on Sunday.The draft US plan, which includes many of Russia's key demands and offers only vague assurances to Ukraine of "robust security guarantees", comes at a perilous moment for Kyiv. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday that Ukraine's borders cannot be changed by force, its army cannot be left vulnerable to attack and that the European Union must have a central role in a Ukraine peace deal. Russia has been making gains on parts of the front, albeit slowly and, according to Western and Ukrainian officials, the advances have been extremely costly in terms of lives lost.The transportation hub of Pokrovsk has been partially taken by Russian forces and Ukrainian commanders say they do not have enough soldiers to prevent small, persistent incursions. Ukraine's power and gas facilities have been pummelled by drone and missile attacks, meaning millions of people are without water, heating and power for hours each day.Zelenskiy himself has been under pressure domestically after a major corruption scandal broke, ensnaring some of his ministers and people in his close entourage. He has warned that Ukraine risked losing its dignity and freedom - or Washington's backing - over the US plan.Zelenskiy welcomed the diplomatic efforts in Geneva, saying that he hoped they would lead to a result. Kyiv had taken heart in recent weeks after the United States tightened sanctions on Russia's oil sector, the main source of funding for the war, while its own long-range drone and missile strikes have caused considerable damage to the industry.But the draft peace plan appears to hand the diplomatic advantage back to Moscow. Ukraine relies heavily on U.S. intelligence and weapons to sustain its war against Russia. Rubio and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff arrived on Sunday for the hastily convened Geneva meeting. "We hope to iron out the final details...to draft a deal that is advantageous to them (Ukraine)," a US official said. "Nothing will be agreed on until the two presidents get together," the official said, referring to Trump and Zelenskiy.US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll was also in Geneva for the talks, where Ukraine's delegation is led by the head of Zelenskiy's office, Andriy Yermak. Yermak said his delegation met with the national security advisers from Britain, France and Germany and would next hold talks with the United States.European and other Western leaders have said the US peace plan was a basis for talks to end the war but needed "additional work". Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he would speak to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday about Ukraine and share the outcome with European and US allies.Putin has described the plan as the basis for a resolution to the conflict, but Moscow may object to some proposals in the scheme, which requires its forces to pull back from some areas they have captured.

Poland said Wednesday it would close the last Russian consulate in its territory and deploy thousands of soldiers to protect infrastructure in response to a railway explosion it blames on Moscow. Poland, a major ally in Kyiv's fight against Russia's invasion, says two Ukrainians collaborating with Moscow perpetrated the weekend blast on the Warsaw-Lublin line, which connects Warsaw to the Ukrainian border.Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said at a news conference that the first response would be to close Russia's last operating consulate in the northern city of Gdansk. Warsaw has previously closed Russian consulates in Krakow and Poznan over sabotage acts. "It was not only an act of sabotage but also an act of state terrorism," Sikorski told lawmakers.Moscow denies responsibility for sabotage, citing "Russophobia", and said it would likewise limit Poland's diplomatic and consular presence in Russia. Sikorski said he would ask other EU nations to limit Russian diplomats' travel in the 25-nation Schengen free-travel area. There has been a wave of arson, sabotage and cyberattacks in Poland and other European nations since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said up to 10,000 soldiers will be deployed to help protect critical infrastructure such as railways. The Polish army chief of staff, Wieslaw Kukula, speaking to reporters alongside the defence minister, warned that the upcoming long winter nights and Christmas period could be perceived by Poland's enemies as a good time for sabotage.A special app is planned for citizens to report suspicious situations. Jacek Dobrzynski, spokesperson for Poland's minister in charge of intelligence services, said that in addition to the two main Ukrainian suspects who have fled to Belarus, several other people had been detained over the railway blast. A spokesperson for Polish prosecutors, Przemyslaw Nowak, said a prosecutor signed a decision to charge in absentia the two Ukrainian men — named as Oleksandr K and Yevhenii I — for sabotage on November 15 and 16 on orders of Russian intelligence.Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he had spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy about the threat and agreed on cooperation between special services and state railways, plus the need to identify collaborators. The European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said the attack highlighted risks to European rail infrastructure essential to move military equipment and troops fast.

OilOil prices settled more than 2% higher on Friday as Russia's port of Novorossiisk halted oil exports following a Ukrainian drone attack that hit an oil depot in the Russian energy hub, stoking supply concerns.Brent crude futures settled at $64.39, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $60.09. For the week, Brent rose by 1.2% and WTI rose by 0.6%.**media[381904]**The Russian port of Novorossiisk paused oil exports, equivalent to 2.2mn barrels per day, or 2% of global supply, and oil pipeline monopoly Transneft suspended crude supplies to the outlet.Ukraine on Friday said it separately struck an oil refinery in Russia's Saratov region and a fuel storage facility in nearby Engels overnight.Investors are assessing how recent attacks impact long-term Russian supply while watching how Western sanctions affect the country’s oil output and trade flows.GasAsian spot LNG prices were flat for a second consecutive week, as steady supplies of contracted cargoes and overall weak demand across the region outweighed modest spot market interest.The average LNG price for December delivery into northeast Asia held at $11.10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), industry sources estimated.Current price levels are still too expensive for most price sensitive buyers, but minor supportive news came from Indonesia and Egypt that signalled higher domestic demand, adding a bit of tightness to the current circumstances.**media[381905]**In Europe, the Dutch TTF price settled at $10.56 per mmBtu, recording a weekly loss of 0.1%. Gas prices were under bearish pressure as oversupply, weak Asian demand, high freight rates, and strong US liquefaction kept cargoes in the Atlantic basin.This article was supplied by the Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development.

Ukraine drones hit Russia's Orenburg gas processing plantGas from Karachaganak is being processed at the Orenburg plantShell, Eni, Chevron are among Karachaganak stakeholdersA Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Orenburg gas plant has forced neighbouring Kazakhstan to reduce production at its Karachaganak oil and gas condensate field by 25% to 30%, two industry sources told Reuters on Monday.One of the world's largest gas processing plants, Orenburg was forced to suspend its intake of gas from Kazakhstan after the attack, Kazakhstan's energy ministry said on Sunday.Ukraine confirmed it hit a gas plant in the Orenburg region, some 1,700 kilometres east of the Russian border with Ukraine, and an oil refinery in the Samara region.Kyiv has stepped up its attacks on Russian refineries and other energy facilities since August to try to disrupt fuel supplies and deprive Moscow of funding.Output at Karachaganak on Monday was down to between 25,000 metric tons (196,500 barrels per day) and 28,000 metric tons from the usual level of 35,000-35,500, according to two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.They said Orenburg, which is controlled by gas producer Gazprom, might resume some gas intake from Karachaganak on Monday. However, they declined to say when normal levels of supply would be restored.Oil and gas output at Karachaganak are closely linked, meaning the field is not able to produce much oil if its gas production is down.Apart from processing at Orenburg, Karachaganak gas is used for re-injection to maintain reservoir pressure as well as for power generation at local facilities.Karachaganak produced around 263,000 bpd of oil in 2024. It is exported by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium via a Russian Black Sea terminal, as well as through Russia's Druzhba pipeline to Germany.The field is operated by a consortium which includes US major Chevron (18%) and European energy firms Shell (29.25%) and Eni (29.25%).Russia's Lukoil (13.5%) and local firm KazMunayGaz (10%) also hold stakes.The consortium, Gazprom, and Kazakhstan's energy ministry did not reply to requests for comment.Kazakh authorities agreed with Karachaganak shareholders in 2024 to build a new gas processing plant at the field with annual capacity of up to 4 billion cubic metres, expected to start operations in 2028.However, the project has been suspended under the current consortium, and the government is seeking new investors, aiming to attract Kazakh companies.Industry sources has said that oil and gas condensate production at Karachaganak declined in September by 24% from August to 200,000 bpd amid maintenance at the Orenburg plant.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he discussed his country's air defence needs with his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb after recent Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Zelenskiy, who is due to meet Donald Trump in Washington on Friday, also said it was important that the U.S. president had managed to stop the war in Gaza. "Of course, the right steps by America could also work to end Russia's war against Ukraine. We have a vision for this," Zelenskiy said, adding that he and Stubb were "coordinating" their positions.

Russia and Ukraine exchanged reports of downing drones, in a continuation of the conflict between the two sides that has been ongoing since February 2022. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported Sunday that its air defense systems destroyed 32 Ukrainian drones overnight. For its part, Ukrainian authorities announced that, according to preliminary data, air defense forces downed 103 drones in the north, east, and south of the country. Since the beginning of the war, which has entered its fourth year, Russia and Ukraine have exchanged almost daily reports confirming that each side has repelled attacks from the other side, without verifying these data from an independent source, given the circumstances of the ongoing war.

Russian air defenses intercepted several Ukrainian drones heading toward the capital Moscow early Tuesday, in the second such incident within 24 hours. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a post on social media that emergency service specialists were working at the site where debris had fallen. In Tula Region, south of Moscow, Russian authorities reported the destruction of four Ukrainian drones overnight, adding that no casualties or damage to buildings or infrastructure had been recorded. Voronezh Governor Aleksandr Gusev also said that Russian air defense forces had shot down several drones in two areas of the region, with no injuries reported, according to preliminary information. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that a total of 184 Ukrainian drones were intercepted and destroyed over various regions of the country during the past night. Since the start of the conflict in February 2022, Russia and Ukraine have issued near-daily reports of attacks and counterattacks, which remain difficult to verify independently due to the ongoing hostilities and wartime conditions.