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Russian shelling in Kherson and Kharkiv has killed at least three people total and wounded three others
U.K. Defense Ministry says attacks by Russian air forces are waning in effectiveness in latest assessment of war
Russia called the Jeddah peace talks on Ukraine a doomed attempt by the West to rally the Global South behind Kyiv, the state news agency TASS reported.
A Ukrainian woman was killed in Russian attacks on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, local officials said.
Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on his Telegram messaging app account that the shelling had started around midnight and lasted for several hours.
Meanwhile, at least two people were killed and three others wounded in Russian shelling of border areas in the Kharkiv region of northeast Ukraine, Reuters reported, quoting Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office.
The news agency says 22 Ukrainian soldiers have returned home as part of the latest in a series of prisoner exchanges on Monday, also quoting Yermak.
Yermak said the released service members included two officers, sergeants and privates who fought in different parts of the front. Some of them were wounded.
In its latest assessment on the war in Ukraine, Britain’s defense ministry Monday said Russia’s air force continues to deploy “considerable resources” in support of ground operations in Ukraine, “but without operational effect.”
The ministry says Russian tactical combat aircraft have typically carried out over 100 missions a day, but they are almost always restricted to Russian-controlled territory
“due to the threat from Ukrainian air defenses.”
The assessment also said that while Russian attack helicopters had proved effective at the start of Ukraine’s southern counter-offensive that began in June, it appears to be less able “to generate effective tactical airpower in the south.
Peace talks end in Saudi Arabia
Separately, the Jeddah summit on finding a peaceful end to Russia’s war against Ukraine concluded Sunday, with participants agreeing to continue discussions toward peace, according to a closing statement released by host Saudi Arabia.
Senior officials from 42 countries participated in the two-day Jeddah peace summit, but none were from Russia.
Ukraime’s Yermak, on Sunday called talks held in Jeddah “very productive,” while Moscow called the meeting a doomed attempt to sway the Global South behind Kyiv.
The high-level talks included delegates from the world economies of the BRICS group, Brazil, India, China and South Africa.
The head of Brazil’s delegation, foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim, stressed, however, that “any real negotiation must include all parties,” including Russia, according to a copy of his statement shared with AFP.
“Although Ukraine is the biggest victim, if we really want peace, we have to involve Moscow in this process in some form,” he said.
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan led Washington’s delegation at Jeddah, a senior White House official said.
Western officials and analysts said Saudi diplomacy had been important in securing China’s presence at the talks.
Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom has kept ties with both sides presenting itself as a mediator and seeking a bigger role on the world stage.
In his nightly video address from Jeddah, Zelenskyy said, “The greater the consolidation of the world for the sake of restoring a just peace is, the sooner an end will be put to the bombs and missiles with which Moscow wants to replace the norms of international law.”
Russia was not involved in this weekend’s talks and said it wouldn’t be part of the summit planned for the fall.
Beyond its Western backers, Ukraine hoped to garner diplomatic support from more Global South countries, including Brazil, India, South Africa and Turkey emphasizing how food prices have risen after Russia quit the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain deal last month and began attacking Ukrainian port facilities.
Some information for this story came from Reuters.
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