Drone strikes kill 2 in Russian border regions ahead of Ukraine peace talks – National

Two people were killed in Ukrainian drone strikes in regions bordering Russia, local officials said Sunday, on the eve of peace talks aimed at ending the nearly four-year-old war in Paris this week.

Belgorod regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said one person died and two others, including a young child, were injured when a Ukrainian drone hit a car.

Another person was killed in a drone strike on a village in the Kursk region, regional governor Alexander Khinstein said on Sunday.

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In Ukraine, three people were injured in the Kharkiv region during drone strikes overnight on Sunday, the country’s emergency services said.

Separately, the death toll from a Russian missile attack on the city of Kharkiv on Friday rose to five when body parts were found under the rubble of a building, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Sunday.

The latest attacks came after national security advisers from Europe and other allies visited kyiv on Saturday to discuss security guarantees and economic support, as U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine intensify.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, preparing to travel to Paris for a meeting with his partners, said on Saturday that work on peace proposals could now accelerate as Ukraine shared all documents under discussion with the 18 national security advisers, including those on security guarantees.

He said representatives of Ukraine’s general staff and military sector would meet in Paris on Monday, followed by a meeting of European leaders on Tuesday, where he expressed hope that documents on security guarantees would be finalized. He added that there would also be meetings with American representatives in Paris.