Russian Strikes Kill Three in Ukraine’s Sumy Region

Russian attacks on Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region have killed three people and wounded two, local authorities reported.

The strikes come amid deteriorating prospects for peace, after Russia stated on Wednesday that momentum towards a resolution had largely disappeared following the August summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Alaska. The development dims hopes for a swift end to the ongoing war, now in its third and a half year.

According to Oleg Grygorov, head of Sumy’s regional military administration, Russian forces targeted local communities with dozens of strike UAVs and guided aerial bombs.

Meanwhile, a separate attack by Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s Volgograd region, igniting fires at fuel and energy facilities, Governor Andrey Bocharov confirmed on Thursday.

The Putin-Trump summit took place at an air base in Anchorage, Alaska, in August. No peace agreement was reached to halt the fighting.

Russia’s full-scale offensive against Ukraine began in February 2022, described by Moscow as a “special military operation” aimed at demilitarising Ukraine and preventing NATO expansion.

The war has caused tens of thousands of civilian and military casualties, widespread destruction, and forced millions of Ukrainians to flee their homes. Russia currently occupies around a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, much of which has been devastated by continuous fighting.