Russia pounds Kyiv with missiles and drones, hours after agreeing to peace talks

Russia pounded Kyiv with ballistic missiles and Ukraine sent hundreds of drones towards Moscow overnight as the warring sides kept up a barrage of attacks despite the latest U.S. push to end the conflict.

Russia said on Wednesday it was ready to resume U.S.-mediated talks with Ukraine next month, after President Vladimir Putin hosted U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff for talks in St Petersburg.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he hoped negotiations, which would be the first since February, would take place early in November.

Ukraine said Russia fired at least 21 ballistic missiles in three waves. Russia said Ukraine launched 630 drones towards the capital Moscow during the night.

The two sides held an exchange of war dead, with Moscow handing over 252 bodies and Ukraine handing over 25, according to the Belta state news agency in neighboring Belarus. Such exchanges have accompanied moves toward talks in the past.

But while Witkoff spoke of “some degree of momentum” after meeting Zelenskyy and European and NATO officials in Oslo earlier in the week, the Kremlin expressed doubts.

“The Americans sensed some new nuances (in Oslo) and told us about this. But these nuances, so to speak, do not entirely satisfy us,”…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world