Late last night, Russian forces launched three strikes on Dobropilya, located north of Pokrovsk, in eastern Ukraine. Four multi-storey residential buildings were damaged, regional governor Vadim Filashkin reported. Loud explosions also echoed in Odessa last night. The city has been attacked for the fourth consecutive night by drones. Over 10 drones attacked the cities of Odessa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny from the Black Sea, BNR reports.
And tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are facing complete encirclement around the Russian city of Sudzha in Kursk region, battlefield maps show.
At the same time, Russian air defense forces said they shot down 43 Ukrainian drones over parts of southern Russia last night. Russian oil facilities were attacked. An oil refinery in Kirishi, Leningrad Region, was hit. Falling debris damaged the exterior of one of the tankers.
A meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected next week. Ukraine wants peace "as soon as possible," Zelensky said in an evening video address.
Trump has previously said he is considering wide-ranging banking sanctions and tariffs against Russia if it does not agree to negotiate with Ukraine. He has ordered the US Treasury Department to explore the possibility of quickly easing sanctions on Russia's energy sector if Moscow agrees to a peace deal with Kiev.