Kyiv [Ukraine], January 24 : At least three people have been killed in a Russian drone attack near Kyiv which damaged a residential apartment building, eight houses, commercial buildings and several cars, Ukraine's interior ministry said on Friday, Al Jazeera reported.
It said that two men and a woman were killed in the drone debris in the overnight attack on central Kyiv region.
The attack on Kyiv came as Russian authorities said the country's air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 121 drones launched by Ukraine overnight. In a statement shared on Telegram, Russian Defence Ministry announced that the drones were shot down in 13 Russian regions, including seven over Moscow and the nearby region.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the drones had been intercepted at several places around Russia's capital. Two Moscow airports - Vnukovo and Domodedovo were handling flights after suspending operations, according to Russia's federal aviation agency, Al Jazeera cited Russian news agencies.
According to Russian defence ministry, other regions targeted by the attacks included Kursk, Bryansk, Belgorod and the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, both sides are eyeing for advantage ahead of possible negotiations in the early days of US President Donald Trump's administration.
Before returning to the White House for the second time, Trump vowed to end the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv immediately after assuming office, raising expectations he would use aid to force Ukraine to make concessions to Russia, which launched offensive in February 2022, Al Jazeera reported.
On January 22, Trump increased pressure on Russian Presiden Vladimir Putin to make a deal, threatening to impose tougher economic measures if Moscow does not agree to end the war in Ukraine. He also emphasised his long-standing admiration for the Russian people and his past positive relationship with Russian counterpart Putin.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote, "I'm not looking to hurt Russia. I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin - and this despite the Radical Left's Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX. We must never forget that Russia helped us win the Second World War, losing almost 60,000,000 lives in the process. All of that being said, I'm going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR."
He added, "Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT'S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. If we don't make a 'deal,' and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries. Let's get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way - and the easy way is always better. It's time to "MAKE A DEAL." NO MORE LIVES SHOULD BE LOST!!!"
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113872782548137314
Meanwhile, according to Al Jazeera report, the Kremlin said on Friday that it wanted to resume nuclear disarmament talks with Trump's administration "as soon as possible". Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin was ready to hold a phone call with Trump and was waiting for word from Washington.
Earlier, hours before the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20, Putin expressed willingness to hold communication with the incoming US administration about the Ukraine conflict and called elimination of the root cause of the crisis as the "most important thing," TASS reported.
He made the remarks during the meeting of Russia's Security Council. "We are also open to dialogue with the new US administration about the Ukrainian conflict. The most important thing there is to eliminate the root causes of the crisis, which we have talked about many times. This is the most essential thing," TASS quoted Putin as saying.