Russia has been accused of making “hollow statements about peace” after launching a missile strike that wounded dozens of people, including children, as it held talks with the US on a proposed ceasefire at sea in the war in Ukraine.
Russian and US officials met in Saudi Arabia on Monday, with Ukrainian and American delegations due to gather in Riyadh on Tuesday.
Both Russia and Ukraine have accused the other of undermining efforts to reach a pause in the three-year-old war.
There was no immediate word on whether an agreement had been hammered out or progress made in Monday’s talks with Russia.
A Russian source told the Reuters news agency that a draft joint statement on the talks’ outcome has been sent to Moscow and Washington for approval, with the parties aiming to release it on Tuesday,
A White House source said the talks have been going “extremely well” and a positive announcement is expected soon.
The talks were expected to cover energy infrastructure and a potential pause in attacks in the Black Sea to ensure the safety of commercial shipping.
In an exchange with reporters at the White House, Donald Trump said territorial lines and the potential for US ownership of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine have been part of the talks.
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As the Russia-US meeting was under way, a Russian missile strike damaged a school and a hospital in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, wounding at least 88 people, including 17 children, according to the local council.
“Moscow speaks of peace while carrying out brutal strikes on densely populated residential areas in major Ukrainian cities,” Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said.
“Instead of making hollow statements about peace, Russia must stop bombing our cities and end its war on civilians.”
Sumy is about 18.6 miles from the Russian border and is subject to regular drone and missile strikes by Russia.
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Meanwhile, Ukraine’s main intelligence agency claims Russia is recruiting unwitting Ukrainian teenagers to carry out terrorist attacks.
Russian intelligence agencies are promising children easy money on social media for delivering packages, which are remotely detonated, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said.
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The SBU said the Russian Federal Security Service used a 15-year-old boy as an “assassin” in Kharkiv and killed a teenager in Ivano-Frankivsk, western Ukraine.
Sky News cannot independently verify these claims.
