Moscow/Kyiv, Oct. 22 (SANA) Russia and Ukraine continued to exchange drone and missile attacks as diplomatic efforts to end the war continued, following a meeting between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air defenses shot down 163 drones as they approached the capital during an attack targeting the Moscow region from Wednesday evening until early Thursday. Two people were injured.
In posts on his Telegram channel, Sobyanin said 630 drones had headed toward the Moscow region between 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 21 and 4 a.m. on Oct. 22. Most were intercepted at a considerable distance, while 163 were neutralized as they approached the capital, he said.
Sobyanin added that two people were injured in Voronovo, part of Moscow’s New Administrative Territories, and received medical assistance. Emergency teams continued working at sites where drone debris fell.
Damage and injuries reported in Kyiv
Meanwhile, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Wednesday evening that a woman was injured in a ballistic missile attack targeting the Ukrainian capital.
In posts on his Telegram channel, Klitschko said the attack damaged an auto repair shop and two residential buildings in the Dniprovskyi district. People may have been trapped under the rubble of one of the houses, he said, adding that debris also fell near a fuel station. Medical teams transported the injured woman to hospital. Klitschko urged residents to remain in shelters as the attack continued.
Diplomatic efforts to end the war
The latest developments followed a meeting on Wednesday in St. Petersburg between Witkoff and Putin. After the meeting, US President Donald Trump said a settlement to the war in Ukraine had never been “closer than it is now.”
The meeting was preceded by talks in Oslo on Tuesday involving Witkoff, European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who called for a ceasefire along the current front lines as a first step toward negotiations.
On Oct. 8, the United Nations said attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure in the Russia-Ukraine war constitute violations of international humanitarian law. It called for an end to such attacks and for the protection of civilians, infrastructure and essential services.
R A H / R.K
