Three people were killed including a four-year-old child, Ukraine officials said, in a large-scale Russian drone attack on the country just two days before Christmas.
The latest barrage, involving more than 650 drones and three dozen missiles, comes as hopes of securing a US-brokered ceasefire before 25 December fade.
The Russian assault struck homes and the power grid in 13 regions of Ukraine, causing widespread outages in bitterly cold sub-zero temperatures.
Initial reports from Ukrainian emergency services said the child died in Ukraine’s northwestern Zhytomyr region, while a drone killed a woman in the Kyiv region, and another civilian death was recorded in the western Khmelnytskyi region, according to reports.
Russia launched 635 drones of various types and 38 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said adding that air defences stopped 587 of the drones and 34 of the missiles.
The bombardment demonstrates Russian president Vladimir Putin’s ongoing intention of pursuing the invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces were forced to pull out of the embattled eastern town of Siversk, as Russian troops wage a battlefield offensive aimed at threatening key cities critical to Ukraine's defences in the east, according to Kyiv’s military.
This puts Russian forces closer to the hub of Sloviansk, some 30 km (20 miles) to the west. Sloviansk is a northern anchor of the so-called "fortress belt" of cities in Ukraine's heavily industrialised Donbas which Russia has demanded Kyiv cede before it ends its war.
It comes as Ukrainian and European officials continue to express concerns Putin is not sincerely engaging with the US-led peace efforts, as the war looks set to enter its fifth year in February.
Zelensky said on Tuesday that several draft documents, including on security guarantees, had been prepared after Ukrainian officials held talks in Miami with US counterparts on ending Russia's war.
“They worked productively with envoys of President Trump and several draft documents have now been prepared,” the Ukrainian president wrote on X. “In particular, these include documents on security guarantees for Ukraine, on recovery, and on a basic framework for ending this war.”
However, Russia was quick to once again pour cold water on the suggestion that progress was being made.
The latest dialogue between the Russians and US officials in Miami should not be seen as a breakthrough, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
Calling it a “working process”, Putin’s close aide said the discussions were expected to continue and that Russia’s priority was to obtain from the United States details of Washington’s work with Europeans and Ukrainians on a possible settlement.
He said Moscow would then judge how far those ideas matched what he called the “spirit of Anchorage”.
Pope Leo expressed “much sadness” as Russia refused a Christmas ceasefire. He told journalists: "Among the things that cause me much sadness is that apparently Russia has refused a ceasefire request.
"I will make an appeal one more time to people of good will to respect at least Christmas day as a day of peace," said Leo. "Maybe they will listen to us and there will be at least 24 hours, a day of peace, across the world."
US president Donald Trump had reportedly been hoping to secure an agreement before Christmas Day, having previously announced a proposal to end the war which would force Kyiv to give up land while compensating the United States for upholding the peace.
While US envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday he held “productive and constructive” talks in Florida with Ukrainian and European representatives Trump was less effusive the day after, saying: “The talks are going along.”
Asked if he planned to speak to Zelensky or Putin, Trump did not say only adding that he would like to see the fighting stop.
Meanwhile, there have been media reports of a dispute between Witkoff and another senior figure in Trump’s cabinet.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has grown frustrated with Witkoff, Trump’s designated peace envoy, over what Rubio’s allies view as attempts to sideline the state department from negotiations, NBC News reported.
In November, Witkoff travelled to Geneva ahead of schedule to begin talks with Ukrainian officials, NBC cited officials as saying.
Witkoff did not inform Rubio or senior state department officials of the trip, the sources said, prompting concerns that he was seeking to conduct negotiations independently.
“They seem to be singing off of a different sheet of music,” Alexander Vershbow, the former ambassador to Nato, said. “And if you don’t have a common understanding of the problems and of your adversary in a negotiation, it can’t be good.”
However, Rubio later pushed back on the report, describing Witkoff as “a phenomenal person, very smart, very talented”.
“No one is out there doing independent action,” Rubio told reporters. “All of it is strongly coordinated.”
Supreme Court keeps Trump’s National Guard deployment blocked in the Chicago area, for now
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger call for joint 'large-scale operations' against extremists
Trump suggests quitting as president for Kennedy Center host job
Ukraine war latest: Zelensky says draft documents prepared after US talks
The Louvre seen tightening security with similar measures robbers took in October
Italy quietly changes its national anthem but promises it’s not political
