6 killed in Kyiv, 3 in Rostov
Russia rained missiles and drones overnight on Kyiv, killing six people, authorities said yesterday, as three people died in Russia's Rostov region in massive Ukrainian strikes.
The heightened attacks came after US President Donald Trump initially gave Kyiv until November 27 -- the American holiday of Thanksgiving -- to respond to his proposal to end the fighting, a timeline and blueprint that European leaders have baulked at.
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was meeting with a Russian delegation in Abu Dhabi yesterday, US and British media reported, days after talks with Ukraine in Geneva aimed at ending the conflict.
Ukraine's security chief said he was hoping to arrange for President Volodymyr Zelensky to visit the US "at the earliest suitable date" this month.
The overnight barrage was Russian leader Vladimir Putin's "terrorist response" to the US proposal, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on social media.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said four people died and at least three were wounded in the Svyatoshynsky district. Emergency services earlier said two people died in a strike on an apartment building in the eastern Dniprovsky quarter.
Ukraine's military hit a Russian oil refinery in Krasnodar region and an oil terminal in the port of Novorossiysk, it said yesterday.
Before dawn yesterday, Russia's defence ministry said it had intercepted and destroyed 249 Ukrainian drones -- one of the highest figures reported.
In Russia's Rostov region, acting governor Yuri Sliusar said at least three people were killed, adding: "Tonight's enemy attack brought great grief".
In the Krasnodar frontier region, Governor Veniamin Kondratyev called the overnight bombardment "one of the Kyiv regime's most sustained and massive attacks".
Kyiv and its allies spent the weekend hammering away at Washington's 28-point plan, which initially hewed close to Russia's hardline demands, requiring the invaded country to cede territory, cut its military and pledge never to join Nato.
An updated version, aiming to "uphold Ukraine's sovereignty", was thrashed out over the weekend at emergency talks in Geneva. Countries supporting Kyiv were due to hold a video call yesterday to discuss the state of the plan.
"We must be cognisant that Russia will not ease its pressure on Ukraine," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
France's Emmanuel Macron warned against any "capitulation" by Kyiv, adding in an interview broadcast yesterday that only the Ukrainians could decide on what territorial concessions they were willing to make.
"The only question we don't have an answer to is whether Russia is ready to make a lasting peace," he said. "A peace where they don't re-invade Ukraine" later on.
Putin, who welcomed the original US plan to end the fighting, has threatened to seize more Ukrainian territory if Kyiv walks away from the negotiations.
