Russian attack on Ukraine, six dead and 30 injured

Russian drone missiles hit several Ukrainian cities in the early hours of Monday, causing casualties, injuries and extensive material damage. While the war has already passed to a dangerous stage, the American media announced that President-elect Donald Trump and Russian Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation. The news was first announced by the newspaper "The Washington Post". Meanwhile, the Kremlin rejected the announcements.

Russian forces hit towns in southern and eastern Ukraine with missiles and drones on Monday, officials said, killing at least six civilians and injuring about 30 others. Russia has recently intensified attacks on civilian areas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

"Every day, every night, Russia commits the same terror," President Zelenskyy wrote in a post on the Telegram messaging app. "A growing number of civilian objects are being hit more and more."

Children aged between 4 and 17 were also injured in Zaporizhia from the Russian attacks. One of the residents shows the room where his nephew was sleeping when the attacks took place at night.

"We were sleeping and it happened during the night, at 1:30 after midnight. What can I say? The doors all fell down. You can see for yourself. One of the doors fell on the bed there. The wife was also injured and is hospitalized now" , says the 76-year-old resident, Mykola Mayorov.

Russia denies targeting civilians, but thousands have died since it launched its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022.

Both Russia and Ukraine are waiting to see how Washington's policy on the war might change after President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. During the weekend, it was first announced in the newspaper "The Washington Post" about a phone call held in the last few days between President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to people who spoke on condition of anonymity, President-elect Trump has told the Russian president not to escalate the war in Ukraine.

Asked by Fox News if there had been such a call, communications director for the president-elect, Steven Cheung, said he "would not comment on private conversations between President Trump and other world leaders." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the media reports, calling them fake news. He added that Russian President Putin has no immediate plans to talk to the president-elect of the United States.

Following these announcements, Russian President Putin appeared on Monday in Moscow in a meeting with the governor of the Russian region on the border with Georgia, the North Ossetia-Republic of Alania region.

Meanwhile on Sunday, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan announced that President Joe Biden will meet at the White House on Wednesday with President-elect Donald Trump. One of the issues he is expected to address will be Ukraine.

Mr. Sullivan said that: "President Biden will have the opportunity, over the next 70 days, to present to Congress and the next administration the arguments that the United States should not reduce support for Ukraine, and that leaving Ukraine means more instability in Europe".

He added that "President Biden will argue the need for continued resources for Ukraine after his term ends."

The war in Ukraine has entered its most dangerous phase as Russian forces make rapid advances and the West considers how to end the conflict. US President-elect Donald Trump has declared during the campaign that he will end the war in Ukraine within the first 24 hours of taking office./VOA