2 dead in Russia and Ukraine

At least two people were killed in a drone strike in the Saratov region of southwestern Russia, and parts of Ukraine were left without power after targeted attacks on energy infrastructure, local authorities said on Saturday, as US-led peace talks ending the war go ahead.

The drone attack damaged a residential building and several windows were also blown out in a daycare center and a clinic, Saratov Regional Governor Roman Busargin said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had shot down 41 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight.

In Ukraine, Russia launched drone and missile attacks against five Ukrainian regions overnight, targeting energy and port infrastructure. Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Saturday that more than a million people were without electricity in the country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had sent more than 450 drones and 30 missiles to Ukraine overnight.

An attack on the Black Sea city of Odessa caused grain silos to catch fire at the port, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Reconstruction Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said.

Two people were injured in attacks in the Odessa region, according to regional head Oleh Kiper.

Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia is trying paralyze the Ukrainian power grid and denying civilians access to heat, electricity and running water for the fourth consecutive winter, in what Ukrainian officials call “weaponizing the cold.”

The latest round of attacks came after Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said on Friday that Russian police and the National Guard will remain in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, and monitor the industry-rich region even if a peace deal ends Russia’s nearly four-year war in Ukraine. This underlines Moscow’s ambition to maintain its presence in the Donbas after the war. Ukraine is likely reject such a position as US-led negotiations continue.

Moscow will give its blessing to a ceasefire only after Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from the front line, Ushakov said in comments published in the Russian business daily Kommersant.

Meanwhile, Germany will host Zelenskyy on Monday for talks as peace efforts gain momentum and European leaders seek to conduct the negotiations.

For months, American negotiators have tried to navigate each side’s demands as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes for a quick end to the Russian war while growing increasingly exasperated by the delays. The search for possible compromises has hit a major obstacle: who holds the Ukrainian territory currently occupied by Russian forces.