Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia kills 2 as Ukraine seeks to move forward peace talks

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian drone attack on the city of Zaporizhzhia killed at least two people, a Ukrainian official said, ahead of expected U.S.-Ukraine talks.

Zaporizhzhia regional head Ivan Fedorov said a man and a woman were killed and two children wounded when a Russian drone hit a private house on Saturday morning.

The attack came ahead of expected U.S.-Ukraine talks, which Ukrainian state media reported would take place later in the day in Miami.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Thursday he had sent an official delegation to the United States in a bid to move forward suspended U.S.-brokered talks on ending Russia’s invasion.

Trilateral talks involving Russia, which have yet to produce any breakthrough on key issues, have been on ice while the Iran war has dominated international attention.

The White House did not confirm any meeting with the Ukrainian delegation.

Zelenskyy said the main tasks in the U.S. will be to ensure that the trilateral talks resume and that Washington continues to allow other NATO countries to purchase American weapons to send to Ukraine.

A senior Kremlin official indicated Friday that a new round of U.S.-mediated negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv will likely take place soon.

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“The pause is temporary, we hope it’s temporary regarding the continuation of the trilateral format,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Western European officials have over the past year repeatedly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in negotiations while he tries to press his bigger army’s battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land. Russian forces hold nearly 20% of Ukraine.

The latest conflict in the Middle East that began Feb. 28 with Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran has diverted international attention from Ukraine’s plight.

At the same time, Russia is getting a financial windfall from a temporary U.S. waiver on oil sanctions, while Ukraine is desperately short of cash and still waiting for a 90-billion-euro ($103 billion) loan promised by the European Union.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine