Russian strikes on civilian areas in Ukraine’s Sumy and Odesa regions overnight into Wednesday have injured 15 people, including a family with three small children, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Further strikes also targeted ports, and fuel and energy infrastructure, officials said.
The latest attacks come as world leaders continue to push for a peaceful resolution to the conflict and direct negotiations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, with a view to ending the war.
Nato defence chiefs met virtually on Wednesday to discuss how this could be achieved, with Zelenskyy pointing to Wednesday’s strikes as evidence of the urgency with which peace was needed.
The strikes follow a summit between Putin and US President Donald Trump in Alaska last week, aimed at resolving the conflict, as well as a White House meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump, who were joined by European leaders, on Monday.
Wednesday’s meeting of defence chiefs was to discuss security guarantees, seen widely as the only viable way to prevent Russian rearmament and further fighting at some point in the future.
It is understood 32 defence chiefs were participating in the call, with US General Alexus Grynkewich also in attendance.
Ukraine has long maintained any end to the conflict must be supported with military assurances, pointing to previous instances of Russia breaking treaties and territorial assurances.
“We need strong security guarantees to ensure a truly secure and lasting peace,” Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post on Wednesday after Russian missile and drone strikes hit six regions of Ukraine overnight.
Kyiv’s European allies are looking to set up an alliance that could enforce any peace agreement.
A coalition of 30 countries, including European nations, Japan and Australia, and led by the UK and France, have signed up to support the initiative.
Whilst defence chiefs were due to discuss what shape this force could take, the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has previously indicated he would consider sending UK troops to Ukraine as part of this force.
Speaking on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump reaffirmed this commitment by the European so-called “coalition of the willing” and suggested the US would be prepared to offer assistance “by air,” something he indicated for the first time in Monday’s discussions.
Russia has long maintained it will not countenance Nato troops operating in Ukraine, although US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff suggested the Kremlin seemed more amenable to the suggestion following Monday’s meeting in Alaska, .
A meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy would not be the first time the leaders had spoken directly, having met in 2019 at the Paris Normandy Summit to discuss a ceasefire after Russia’s occupation of Crimea.
The Kremlin has yet to directly comment on any future talks between the two leaders.
Speaking on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticised efforts by Europe and the US to plan for Ukrainian security guarantees without Moscow’s involvement.
“We cannot agree with the fact that it is now proposed to resolve collective security issues without the Russian Federation. This will not work,” said Lavrov, according to state news agency RIA Novosti.
Russia will “ensure (its) legitimate interests firmly and harshly,” he added at a news conference in Moscow with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi.
Whilst Zelenskyy has confirmed he is ready to meet with Putin unconditionally, the Kremlin have yet to confirm Putin’s commitment to do the same.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who himself facilitated peace talks between the two neighbours in 2019, suggested the summit could happen in Europe and proposed the Swiss city of Geneva.
Switzerland has expressed its willingness to act as host and, according to a senior official in The Hague with direct knowledge of the request, intends to ask the International Criminal Court (ICC) to exempt it from sanctions to allow Putin in for a summit.
Such an exemption would be necessary due to an ICC 2023 arrest warrant on Putin for alleged involvement in the abduction of Ukrainian children. More than 100 countries are ICC signatories and have a legal obligation to arrest the Russian leader on their soil.
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