Russia and Ukraine report overnight attacks amid US diplomatic push

Russia and Ukraine have reported numerous overnight attacks, despite a diplomatic push to end the conflict.

Russian officials reported on Friday that a swarm of about 1,200 Ukrainian drones were fired at the country, with oil infrastructure among the targets. Ukraine reported that a hospital was struck and that strikes on the port of Odesa were ongoing.

The reports show that hostilities continue unabated despite the renewed effort of United States envoys to mediate a ceasefire.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence reported it had intercepted 1,198 Ukrainian drones overnight, across more than 15 regions.

Attacks in Volgograd in southern Russia killed four people as they hit an industrial area and left two others injured, regional Governor Andrei Bocharov said.

Volgograd is home to a major oil refinery, which unverified video posted on social media purported to show was on fire. There was no immediate official ⁠confirmation that the refinery had been attacked.

Ukraine has concentrated its fire this year on Russia’s oil infrastructure in a bid to cut off its earnings from energy exports, which are being used to power its ongoing invasion.

Sergei Sobyanin, mayor of Moscow, said 467 Ukrainian drones had hit the capital overnight, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

Ukraine reported that Russian forces had been attacking the southern port city of Odesa since early on Friday morning. The city’s military administration reported that at least two people had been killed.

The Russian Defence Ministry said it had targeted a cargo ship in the Black Sea that was transporting weapons and military equipment for Ukrainian forces, according to the TASS news agency.

Ukrainian emergency officials reported six people injured in Russian attacks in the southeastern Zaporizhia district.

A hospital in Kyiv caught fire overnight after being struck during a Russian drone attack, leaving one person injured.

Reporting from the hospital, Al Jazeera’s Audrey MacAlpine said the building was hit at about 3am local time (01:00GMT) and was severely damaged.

“This is a hospital that treats civilians, it’s close to the centre of the city,” she said, noting that many people had been forced to evacuate their homes amid the strikes.

Diplomatic push

The attacks came amid the renewed diplomatic push by US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday and Wednesday, reporting an agreement on a major prisoner exchange but no progress towards ending the war.

Territory and security guarantees remain crucial obstacles. Russia is reported to have repeated uncompromising demands, including its right to control the entirety of Ukraine’s Donbas region.

Unconfirmed reports also said it had made demands regarding wider European security, including calling for Finland to leave NATO and for the Western military alliance to pledge not to base troops in the Baltic region.

The US envoys met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday, then briefed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Dublin, before a meeting of European leaders in the Irish capital on Friday.

Kushner said late on Thursday that Putin has agreed to include Europe in the negotiations. “We cannot conclude this deal without the Europeans being at the table,” he said.

“I think it is self-explanatory that Europe is included in the peace talks to safeguard our interests, but also to support Ukraine,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Dublin.

However, Europe continues to struggle to coordinate its approach, with disagreement over naming a lead negotiator persisting before an expected return to talks between Russia and Ukraine next week. The Dublin summit is focused on resolving the issue.

In Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s MacAlpine said that the Ukrainians worry that Russia is using the move to include the Europeans in the talks to distract from its refusal to concede occupied territory.

However, Moscow on Friday afternoon stated that it has not yet agreed to include European mediators in the talks.

“Once we understand their real intentions and their willingness to contribute to the peace process, then we can make a decision on holding talks in an expanded format,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.