Russian drones batter Ukraine's Odesa as peace talks come to a crux
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KYIV, UKRAINE: Russian drones battered the Ukrainian port city of Odesa in a nighttime attack, local authorities said Tuesday, less than 24 hours after a purported Easter ceasefire unilaterally declared by Moscow ended and just over a day before Ukrainian, British, French and US officials are due to meet in London to discuss the war.
Anticipation is building over whether diplomatic efforts can stop more than three years of fighting since Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
Trump said last week negotiations were "coming to a head" and insisted that neither side is "playing" him in his push to end the grinding war.
This came after secretary of state Marco Rubio suggested last week the US might soon back away from negotiations altogether if they don't progress. He spoke in Paris after talks among US, Ukrainian and European officials produced outlines for steps toward peace and appeared to make some long-awaited progress.
A new meeting is expected Wednesday in London, and Rubio suggested it could be decisive in determining whether the Trump administration continues its involvement.
Odesa came under a "massive attack" by Russian drones overnight, injuring at least three people, the head of Odesa regional administration, Oleh Kiper, wrote on his Telegram page Tuesday.
A residential building in a densely populated urban area, civilian infrastructure and an educational facility were hit, he said.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia fired 54 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, marking a resumption of long-range attacks that have blasted civilian areas and sown terror throughout the war.
Russia has stepped up in the past months its use of Shahed drones, expanding its production of the weapon and refining its tactics, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said in a recently published analysis.
After Putin declared a unilateral ceasefire on Saturday, Ukraine said it was ready to reciprocate but said Russian attacks were continuing. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia violated the ceasefire more than 2,900 times.
The Associated Press was unable to verify whether a ceasefire was in place along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line.
Russia has effectively rejected a US proposal for an immediate and full 30-day halt in the fighting by imposing far-reaching conditions.
Meanwhile, both Russia and Ukraine are preparing for the spring-summer military campaign, Ukrainian and Western officials say.
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