Russia, Ukraine launch drones before Zelensky-Trump summit

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A Ukrainian soldier looks out to the sky for any drone incursions. Ukraine and Russia launched a flurry of drones at one another on Aug 17, ahead of a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump.

Fighting has continued to rage amid a flurry of diplomatic moves to end Moscow’s invasion.

PHOTO: REUTERS

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KYIV - Kyiv and Moscow launched attack drones at each other on Aug 17, a day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due in the US for talks with US President Donald Trump on ending three years of war with Russia.

Fighting has continued to rage amid a flurry of diplomatic moves to end Moscow’s invasion.

Kyiv’s air force said Russia attacked Ukraine with 60 Iranian-made Shahed and other drones as well as an Iskander missile.

The governor of the embattled eastern Donetsk region, Mr Vadym Filashkin, said Russian attacks killed five people in the area on Aug 16.

In Russia, the defence ministry said Kyiv launched 46 drones at the country, mostly over border regions but also over the Nizhny Novgorod region east of Moscow, hundreds of kilometres from Ukraine.

The acting governor of the border Kursk region, Mr Alexander Khinstein, said a Ukrainian drone attack killed a man in his car.

The governor of the southern Voronezh region, Mr Alexander Gusev, said a railway worker was wounded by a drone in the region.

Ukraine has launched drones into Russia throughout Moscow’s full-scale offensive, which has killed thousands of people and displaced millions.

Mr Zelensky is due in Washington on Aug 18,

three days after Mr Trump hosted Russian leader

Vladimir Putin in Alaska for talks.

Following the meeting with Mr Putin, Mr Trump dropped his push for a ceasefire in Ukraine

in favour of pursuing a peace deal

– a position that Moscow has been pushing for.

Mr Putin launched the

Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022

and Moscow’s forces now occupy large swathes of the south and east of the country. AFP









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