Russia bombarded Ukraine with 108 drones overnight in defiance of a proposed month-long ceasefire finalised by European leaders, Kyiv officials said on Monday.
Ukraine said it managed to intercept 55 of the drones that Moscow launched from 11pm on Sunday.
But Ukraine’s railway operator confirmed a missile hit a civilian freight train in the eastern Donetsk region, which injured its driver.
“Truce proposals are being ignored, hostile attacks on railway infrastructure ... continue,” railway company Ukrzaliznytsia said.
The attack also included 30 simulator drones that were lost along the way without hitting anything, the Ukrainian Air Force wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
The assault came just hours after Ukraine’s premier Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to meet Vladimir Putin “personally” in Turkey on Thursday.
US President Donald Trump has demanded that Ukrainian officials hold direct talks with their Russian counterparts to negotiate a possible end to the “bloodbath” war waged by Russia’s president.
Mr Zelensky posted on X: "We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy. There is no point in prolonging the killings.”
On Saturday, Britain and European Union allies demanded the Kremlin accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire starting on Monday.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: "If he (Putin) is serious about peace, then he has a chance to show it. If Putin turns his back on peace, we will respond.”
If Putin turns his back on peace, we will respond
However, Putin rejected the “ultimatums” and called for direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul, an initiative embraced by the White House.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy is set to host EU peers on Monday to discuss support for Ukraine and greater regional defence cooperation in the run-up to a summit hosted by the PM next week.
"We are facing a once-in-a-generation moment for the collective security of our continent," Mr Lammy said. “The challenge we face today is not only about the future of Ukraine – it is existential for Europe as a whole."
Meanwhile, Pope Leo XIV has called for peace in Ukraine and the release of prisoners of war and kidnapped children.
"I also appeal to the great powers of the world, repeating the eternal call ‘Never again war’", the new pontiff said from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica.
