Ukrainian drone strikes kill two in Russia

Moscow, Nov 30 (IANS) Two civilians were killed and two others injured after Ukrainian drone attacks hit Russia's border region of Belgorod, local authorities said Sunday.

In the village of Beryozovka in the Borisovsky district, a drone struck a vehicle, killing two men at the scene, the regional operational headquarters said.

Another drone detonated in the Grayvoron district, injuring a man who was hospitalised in serious condition with multiple shrapnel wounds. A woman who suffered facial burns was also taken to the hospital, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Authorities added that five municipalities came under drone attack, causing damage to private homes, vehicles and outbuildings.

The Russian Defence Ministry said earlier in the day that its air defence systems shot down 230 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles over the past day.

On November 28, the Kremlin said that the United States had provided details regarding the peace plan to Russia after talks were held between the US and Ukraine in Geneva recently.

"The key details have been handed over, and discussions will be held in Moscow next week," Russian state-run news agency TASS quoted Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov as saying during a media briefing held in Moscow on Friday.

Peskov expressed Russia's commitment to negotiations on Ukrainian settlement; however, he said that Russia does not want to speak about it publicly.

Asked about the specific parameters of a settlement in Ukraine that are being discussed, he said: "We don't want to get ahead of ourselves and hold discussions in this public, megaphone format."

The US and Ukraine held a discussion on the 28-point peace plan on November 23. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio termed the meeting "the most productive" since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine started.

On November 25, US President Donald Trump said that his peace plan has been “fine-tuned” with inputs from Russia and Ukraine, and he is sending envoys to the leaders of Russia and Ukraine to finalise a deal.

There are only a "few remaining points of disagreement" over the 28-point plan drafted by the US after it was fine-tuned, Trump said on Truth Social on Tuesday.

“In the hopes of finalising this Peace Plan, I have directed my Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with President [Vladimir] Putin in Moscow and, at the same time, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will be meeting with the Ukrainians”, he wrote.

He said that he was looking forward to meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, “but only when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages”.

--IANS

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