Ukraine and Russia trade drone strikes as Brussels talks restart
Ukraine’s lead negotiator said discussions on security guarantees and 2027 funding continued at NATO headquarters while thousands of drones flew over both countries.
By Camila Herrera ·
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Thursday that his government had held a 90-minute phone call with U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The conversation took place just hours before high-level talks resumed at NATO headquarters in Brussels. These talks focus on postwar reconstruction, funding for 2027, and security guarantees from Western allies.
Ukraine’s lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, stated that the Brussels discussions entered their second day. Officials from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, the European Union, and NATO attended the sessions. The World Bank and the U.S. investment group BlackRock also participated. Umerov wrote online that the group discussed threats from Russia to Ukraine and Europe, as well as joint steps to counter them.
Combat operations continued while diplomats met. Ukraine launched hundreds of drones at Russian targets overnight. Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that its forces shot down 496 Ukrainian drones over 13 regions, the Crimean Peninsula, and the Black and Azov Seas. More than 200 of those drones targeted the Ryazan region southeast of Moscow. Local governor Pavel Malkov said one person was wounded and falling debris damaged power lines and sparked a fire at an industrial site.
Russian media outlets later reported a blaze at the Ryazan oil refinery, sharing images of smoke plumes and a red-glowing night sky. In Ukraine, air defenses shot down or suppressed 105 of 128 Russian attack drones between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Russian strikes wounded four people in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv regions. Regional administrator Oleksandr Hanzha said drones struck six areas in the Dnipropetrovsk region, injuring three people in the city of Dnipro.
A separate attack on a bus in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region killed five people and wounded 13 others, according to Leonid Pasechnik, the Moscow-backed leader of that region. Meanwhile, rescue teams in the Zaporizhzhia region searched for more than 30 people trapped in the wreckage of a former school and shelter. Russian guided bombs struck the site on Monday while residents waited for humanitarian aid. Zelenskyy confirmed 43 deaths from that attack and said one missing person had been found alive.
The European Commission sent Ukraine 4.4 billion euros, or roughly 4.9 billion dollars, on Thursday. This payment is part of a 90 billion euro loan agreed upon by EU leaders in April. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the funds will support defense spending and public services as Ukraine enters its fifth wartime winter.
Zelenskyy expressed hope that the Democratic Party’s victory in the U.S. midterm elections would renew support for Ukraine. In an interview with German broadcaster ZDF, he noted that both parties have supported Ukraine in the past. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhna told the Associated Press that the election results could shift the atmosphere in Washington. He said the understanding that Russia is an aggressive country may become more prevalent on Capitol Hill, though President Trump remains the final decision-maker on U.S. foreign policy.
Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine, and the United States are scheduled to meet in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in the coming days. The goal of those talks is to end the war. Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is ready to take necessary steps and that its proposals have been provided to the American side.
