Russia Intercepts 1,198 Ukrainian Drones as Kyiv Hospital Fire Reported During US Diplomacy Push

Drones, ports, and a hospital

Russia and Ukraine reported overnight attacks while US envoys pushed diplomacy to end the war, with Russia’s Ministry of Defence reporting it had intercepted 1,198 Ukrainian drones overnight across more than 15 regions. Al Jazeera reported that a hospital in Kyiv caught fire overnight after being struck during a Russian drone attack, leaving one person injured, and it said the building was hit at about 3am local time (01:00GMT) and was severely damaged. Russia’s officials said oil infrastructure was among the targets of a swarm of about 1,200 Ukrainian drones, while Ukraine reported that strikes on the port of Odesa were ongoing and that a hospital was struck.

Spread of interceptions3 of 10 outlets reported it · not in BBC and 6 more▾

The reports also described attacks in Volgograd in southern Russia that killed four people and left two others injured, and they said the city’s military administration reported at least two people had been killed in Odesa. The diplomatic push ran alongside the fighting, with Russia and Ukraine negotiators meeting in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday and Wednesday, reporting an agreement on a major prisoner exchange but no progress towards ending the war.

Reporting for this sectionAl Jazeera

Baltic strike and competing claims

Finnish officials confirmed that a Russian warship was attacked in the Gulf of Finland on Wednesday, and the BBC said Ukraine’s SBU security service targeted the ship Naro-Fominsk as part of a broader drone operation.

Martin Herem, the defence minister of Estonia, told public broadcaster ERR that the ship was hit at about 05:30 (03:30 GMT) on Wednesday and that "The ship itself went back towards St Petersburg."

The BBC said the attack raised questions about whether Ukraine could expand its strikes, while it also quoted military analyst Emil Kastehelmi saying, "they understandably tried to use it" and that he did not consider it a serious escalation.

The Kyiv Independent reported that dozens of Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow overnight on Nov. 12-13, disrupting flight operations at several of the region's major airports, and it said Rosaviatsiya announced restrictions in flight operations at Moscow Oblast's Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky airports.

The Kyiv Independent added that Sobyanin claimed 105 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were shot down, while it said the exact number of drones launched at Moscow overnight was not known because Russian officials only report on drones they say were intercepted.

Reporting for this sectionBBCThe Kyiv Independent

Negotiations under pressure

POLITICO said Russia attacked Ukraine hours after Abu Dhabi peace talks ended, with the Kremlin attacking Kyiv with ballistic missiles and 123 attack drones, and it reported that Ukraine shot down 94 attack drones and no missiles. POLITICO reported that Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said one person was killed in Kyiv and five were injured, and it said emergency services also reported fires in the Rivne and Zhytomyr regions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a press conference in Dublin that "They believe that to stop this war, we must leave our own territory," and POLITICO quoted him saying it was impossible to speak to Ukraine in that way when it concerns the independence of the country.

POLITICO also reported that Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation, described Ukraine as "an abscess that burst" after the negotiations, and it said a member of the Ukrainian delegation, David Arakhamia, described negotiations as some of the toughest yet. The sources framed the next steps as a continuation of talks and disputes over territory and Europe’s participation, with Al Jazeera reporting that Moscow said it had not yet agreed to include European mediators and that Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said a decision would depend on understanding their intentions and willingness to contribute.

Reporting for this sectionPOLITICO.euAl Jazeera