Russia says hit by drone attack – DW – 12/31/2025

European and Canadian officials are stepping up coordination to advance peace efforts in Ukraine, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday.

“We are moving the peace process forward. Transparency and honesty are now required from everyone  including Russia,” Merz posted on X.

The meeting, attended by European leaders, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and NATO chief Mark Rutte, followed US President Donald Trump’s talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida.

The leaders held a virtual meeting as Washington pressed Moscow and Kyiv toward a possible settlement.

After the meeting, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said peace was “on the horizon” but far from assured.

Meanwhile, von der Leyen said talks focused on support for Ukraine, security and post-war reconstruction. She added that Ukraine’s eventual accession to the European Union is a “key security guarantee” and a benefit for Europe as a whole.

Four people were injured in a Russian drone strike on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, the city’s military administration said on Wednesday.

Those injured included two children aged eight and 14 as well as a seven-month-old baby, said Sergiy Lysak, head of the city’s military administration.

“Drones attacked the residential, logistical, and energy infrastructure of our region,” Odesa’s military administration regional head said on the Telegram messaging platform.

The fourth victim, a 42-year-old man, was in “serious condition,” Lysak said.

A power outage hit a town outside Moscow, with Russian media citing power authorities as saying it was because of a technical fault at a regional power facility.

The outage affected over 100,000 residents.

Authorities said they were working to repair the damage.

There was no immediate evidence the outage was linked to Ukraine.

Ukraine has bombarded different parts of Russia with a barrage of drones, Russian authorities said.

Ukrainian drones were intercepted and destroyed over the Moscow region, parts of western Russia and the annexed Crimean Peninsula.

The Russian Defense Ministry said air defense units destroyed 27 Ukrainian drones in the three-hour period starting at 8 p.m. (1700 GMT).

No immediate reports of damage were available.

In a residential area in the Black Sea port of Tuapse, the regional administration said port infrastructure and a gas pipeline were damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack.

The operational headquarters of the Krasnodar region said the attack damaged the port’s berth, adding that emergency crews were dispatched to repair the damage.

Ukrainian forces launched a drone attack on several parts of Russia, including the Moscow region, Russian officials said.

It comes a day after Moscow accused Kyiv of carrying out a drone attack targeting one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residences, without providing evidence.

Kyiv has dismissed the allegations as baseless and aimed at derailing peace talks in the war that Russia launched against Ukraine nearly four years ago.

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