Russian drone strike in Ukraine kills 9, injures 4 after peace talks, officials say

A Russian drone strike hit a patron bus in northeastern Ukraine on Saturday killing nine people and injuring four others Ukrainian bureaucrats allege The attack came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian agents held their first direct peace talks in years although the two sides failed to reach a ceasefire agreement for the conflict that began with a February invasion by Moscow Ukraine s national police published photos showing the aftermath of Saturday's strike in the city of Bilopillia in the Sumy region The city is about six miles from the front line and confines with Russia This is another war crime by Russia a deliberate strike on civilian passage that posed no threat the Sumy regional administration commented on Telegram ZELENSKYY SPEAKS WITH TRUMP ALLIES AFTER RUSSIA PEACE TALKS BROKER NO CEASEFIREUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as deliberate killing of civilians A mourning period has been declared in Bilopillia from Saturday through Monday Local region chief Yurii Zarko called the day of the attack Black Saturday The passengers on the bus were being evacuated from Bilopillia when the drone struck according to local media outlet Suspilne Agents were working to identify several of the casualties the greater part of whom were elderly women The injured casualties were transported to a hospital in Sumy the regional capital Three people were listed in serious condition On Saturday morning Russia's defense ministry claimed its forces hit a military staging area in the Sumy region around miles southeast of Bilopillia but did not mention any other attacks in the area It was not without delay clear how the strike would affect peace efforts On Friday Russian and Ukrainian executives met in Turkey in an attempt to reach a temporary ceasefire but the talks ended in less than two hours without a truce The negotiations were the first face-to-face talks between the two countries since the early weeks of the war Both sides agreed on a large prisoner swap but remained far apart on key conditions for ending the conflict One condition for Ukraine which has the backing of its Western allies is a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement Russia however has pushed back against the truce which remains elusive In Turkey Russia and Ukraine agreed to each exchange prisoners of war in what would be their biggest such swap according to the heads of both delegations Both sides also talked about a ceasefire and a meeting between their heads of state according to chief Ukrainian delegate Defense Minister Rustem Umerov An aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin reported both sides also agreed to provide each other with detailed ceasefire proposals with Ukraine requesting the heads of state meeting that Russia took under consideration TRUMP AFTER SKIPPING RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE TALKS WANTS TO MEET PUTIN AS SOON AS WE CAN SET IT UP Zelenskyy stated he discussed the negotiations with U S President Donald Trump and the leaders of France Germany the U K and Poland On X he called for tough sanctions against Moscow if it rejects a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings Zelenskyy was in Tirana Albania on Friday to meet with leaders of European countries to discuss measure defense and democratic standards The leaders he met included French President Emmanuel Macron German Chancellor Friedrich Merz U K Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk Pressure on Russia must be maintained until Russia is ready to end the war Zelenskyy revealed on X The Associated Press contributed to this account