Four Killed In Russian Strike As Diplomacy Seeks An End To Ukraine Conflict

Authorities report that a Russian missile strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro has resulted in four fatalities and left 40 others injured.

Sources not officially confirmed indicate that a ballistic missile may have been involved in the Monday morning attack.

Online videos captured a massive blast near a motorway, while reports said an office building, vehicles, and shops suffered heavy damage.

Situated roughly 100 km (62 miles) from the active front line, Dnipro has repeatedly faced Russian assaults since the invasion began in February 2022.

The strike occurred just a day before US special envoy Steve Witkoff was scheduled to meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss ways to end the war. Witkoff has met with Putin several times this year but has never visited Kyiv.

On Sunday, a Ukrainian delegation held talks with Witkoff, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in Florida.

Zelensky said on Monday that the talks had been “very constructive” but that there were some “tough issues” to be worked through – echoing Rubio’s comments that the meeting had been “productive” but that there was “more work to be done”.

The Florida meeting followed weeks of intensive “shuttle diplomacy,” during which Ukrainian and Russian teams separately consulted with US officials on a possible peace plan.

Despite these negotiations, major gaps persist between Moscow and Kyiv’s stances.

Russia continues to insist on Ukraine withdrawing from the Donbas areas it still controls, a condition Kyiv has firmly rejected.

“If they don’t withdraw, we’ll achieve this by force of arms,” Vladimir Putin said. In response, Zelensky said that Russia “scorned” efforts “to truly end the war”.

Questions about Ukraine’s future security are also contentious. Kyiv and its European allies want assurances—potentially including NATO membership—to prevent future attacks.

Russia strongly opposes such guarantees, and Donald Trump has also ruled out allowing Ukraine to join the alliance.

Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelensky has traveled to Paris to seek support from French President Emmanuel Macron, and is scheduled to visit Ireland on Tuesday.

Lately, concerns have increased in Kyiv and across Europe that US negotiators may be leaning more toward Russia’s positions than Ukraine’s, with European input limited.

Zelensky has also faced political pressure domestically due to a corruption scandal. His chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, who led the Ukrainian delegation in peace talks, resigned on Friday after investigators raided his home, though no wrongdoing has been alleged. Two ministers have also been dismissed.

On Sunday, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that Ukraine had “some difficult little problems”, referring to the scandal, and reiterated his view that both Russia and Ukraine want to end the war.

Since the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022, tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians have died or been wounded, and at least seven million people have fled their homes.

The broader conflict traces back to 2014, when Ukraine’s pro-Russian president was removed from office, leading Russia to annex Crimea and support armed uprisings in eastern Ukraine.