Russian drones kill 2 and wound children in Ukraine as Zelenskyy urges speedier diplomacy

Russian Drone Attack on Odesa Kills Two, Injures 23 as Ukraine Seeks Faster Peace Talks

A massive Russian drone assault on Ukraine’s southern port city of Odesa has killed at least two people and wounded 23 others, including two children and a pregnant woman, Ukrainian officials reported Tuesday. The attack comes as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges the United States to accelerate diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s invasion, now approaching its fourth year.

Ukrainian authorities said the bombardment involved more than 50 drones, some recently upgraded by Russia with enhanced range and strike capabilities. The assault targeted critical power infrastructure during one of Ukraine’s coldest winters in recent memory and damaged five apartment buildings. Emergency crews recovered the bodies of two men, aged 90 and 52, from the rubble.

“The rescue operation will continue until the fate of all people who may be under the rubble is clarified,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram. He noted that an informal Protestant place of worship was also damaged in the attack.

The president emphasized the counterproductive nature of Russia’s ongoing aggression: “Each such Russian strike undermines diplomacy, which is still ongoing, and hits, in particular, the efforts of partners who are helping to end this war.”

While the Trump administration’s diplomatic initiatives have reportedly made some progress, they’ve yet to resolve fundamental issues regarding Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories and Moscow’s territorial demands. The next round of talks between the United States and Russia is scheduled for February 1, though Zelenskyy has called for accelerating this timeline.

Military analysts suggest that Russian President Vladimir Putin is deliberately avoiding a settlement despite his army’s challenges along the approximately 1,000-kilometer front line. Putin appears to be calculating that Western support for Kyiv will eventually diminish and Ukraine’s resistance will crumble under sustained pressure.

Moscow continues to replenish its forces through various means, including cash incentives, releasing prisoners, and recruiting foreign nationals. An Associated Press investigation recently revealed that Bangladeshi workers were lured to Russia with promises of civilian employment before being sent into combat in Ukraine.

The overnight drone attack was part of a larger assault in which Russia launched 165 drones at Ukraine, with 24 successfully striking targets across seven regions despite air defense efforts. These persistent bombardments have damaged UNESCO-protected world heritage sites in Odesa, Lviv, and Kyiv in recent weeks.

Power outages continue to affect hundreds of thousands of civilians. In Kyiv, a city of approximately 3 million people dominated by Soviet-era tower blocks, more than 900 apartment buildings remained without heating on Tuesday.

Russia’s drone capabilities have evolved significantly during the conflict. Earlier this month, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry intelligence directorate reported that Russia had deployed its new jet-powered “Geran-5” strike drone for the first time. This Russian variant of the Iranian-designed Shahed can reportedly carry a 90-kilogram warhead and has a range of nearly 1,000 kilometers.

Ukraine has responded by dramatically increasing production of interceptor drones while developing its own long-range unmanned aerial vehicles. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Tuesday that its air defenses had shot down 19 Ukrainian drones overnight in several Russian regions.

The ongoing drone warfare represents the latest escalation in a conflict that has devastated Ukraine’s infrastructure and civilian population while testing the resolve of its Western allies. As winter deepens and diplomatic efforts continue, Ukrainian officials maintain that additional sanctions against Russia are necessary to force the Kremlin toward meaningful compromises.

The intensifying attacks on civilian areas and critical infrastructure highlight the urgent need for a diplomatic solution, even as both sides continue to develop and deploy increasingly sophisticated weapons systems in what has become Europe’s largest conventional military conflict since World War II.