One person was killed and two others injured in a drone attack within the Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia on Monday, according to the governor, Gleb Nikitin. The attack in the Ukrainian-controlled Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions that form part of the industrial heartland of Ukraine happened only days before an anticipated summit in Alaska between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, where the Russian leader is likely to lobby for a peace settlement to formalise his conquests.
The security services (SBU) in the country, according to a Ukrainian official who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed responsibility for the strike that targeted the Plandin plant located in the city of Arzamas. It is claimed that the factory produces gyroscopic equipment, control systems and on-board computers on Khinzal 32 and Khinzal 101 missiles. It was an official who referred to it as an absolutely legitimate target which belonged to the Russian military industry complex serving the war.
The Defence Ministry of Russia added that its air defence systems shot down 39 Ukrainian drones over the night and Monday morning in various regions in the Russian territory and Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
The Alaska summit is going to take place with the backdrop of violent hostilities on the 1,000-kilometre battle line. Putin insists on keeping territories held by the Russian military in Ukraine and preventing Kyiv from joining NATO to ensure Ukraine remains under Russian influence. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has outright denied such terms, saying he would never give up territory or would not give up NATO desires.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other European leaders have reiterated that Ukraine has to determine its future itself, and borders are not to be redrawn using force. Merz met with Trump on Sunday, but the details of the talk are not made public.
On the ground, there is little hope that the battle will be over soon, as the Ukrainian troops fear that should there be any lull to the battle due to possible peace talks, it would only be a lull prior to Russia launching a bigger offensive. The drone attack adds more weight to the tense environment that existed during the summit and also in the waging of war.
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