More than 30 missiles and almost 600 drones fired at Ukraine: Zelensky

Ukrainian naval drones hit two sanctioned tankers in the Black Sea as the vessels headed to a Russian port to load up with oil destined for foreign markets, the Ukrainian government said, while Russia unleashed an air barrage on Kyiv overnight, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The attacks come as President Volodymyr Zelensky’s negotiating team heads to the US for talks aimed at bringing an end to the war.

The two oil tankers, identified as the Kairos and Virat, were empty and sailing to Novorossiysk, a major Russian oil terminal on the Black Sea oil, the official at the Security Service of Ukraine said.

The official did not say when the Ukrainian strikes took place, but reports from other governments suggest they occurred on Friday and Saturday (European time).

Naval drones were seen speeding towards hulking tankers followed by powerful explosions that caused fires on the vessels in video footage shared by the official and verified independently.

“Video shows that after being hit, both tankers sustained critical damage and were effectively taken out of service. This will deal a significant blow to Russian oil transportation,” the official said in a statement.

Separately, Zelensky said 36 missiles and almost 600 drones were fired by Russian forces in an overnight attack on Ukraine’s capital that occurred on Friday (Kyiv time). The main targets were energy infrastructure and civilian facilities, with extensive damage and fires in residential buildings, he said.

As well as those killed, at least 29 people were injured in Kyiv with 19 hospitalised, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. Air raid sirens in the capital sounded for almost 12 hours, and half a million people were without power.

Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council secretary Rustem Umerov and his negotiating team were on their way to the US, Zelensky said on X. They are expected to meet in Florida on Sunday (US time) with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, according to an American official.

“The American side is demonstrating a constructive approach, and in the coming days it is feasible to flesh out the steps to determine how to bring the war to a dignified end,” Zelensky said.

More than 30 missiles and almost 600 drones fired at Ukraine: Zelensky

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