At least two people were killed in a drone strike in Russia’s southwestern Saratov region and parts of Ukraine were left without power due to attacks on energy infrastructure, local officials said on Saturday during US-led peace talks. the war press
The drone strike damaged an apartment building and also blew out several windows at a kindergarten and clinic, said Roman Busargin, governor of the Saratov region.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down 41 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight.
In Ukraine, Russia carried out drone and missile attacks overnight in five regions of Ukraine, targeting energy and port infrastructure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had sent more than 450 drones and 30 missiles into Ukraine overnight.
“Thousands of families remain without electricity after strikes in Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson and Chernihiv regions last night,” he wrote on Telegram.
Press service of the President of Ukraine via AP 
An attack on the Black Sea city of Odesa set fire to grain silos at the port, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Reconstruction Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said.
Two people were injured in the attacks in the wider Odesa region, according to Oleh Kiper, the head of the region.
Kiev and its Western allies say Russia is trying Ukraine’s power grid crippled and deny civilians access to heat, electricity and running water for the fourth winter in a row, in what Ukrainian officials call “weaponizing” the cold.
The latest attacks Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said on Friday that Russian police and the National Guard would remain in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas and oversee the industrially rich region, even if a peace deal ends Russia’s nearly four-year war in Ukraine. This underlines Moscow’s intention to maintain its presence in Donbas after the war. Ukraine is likely reject such an attitude as US-led negotiations drag
Moscow will give its blessing to the ceasefire only after Ukrainian forces withdraw from the front line, Ushakov said in comments published in Russia’s Kommersant newspaper.
Meanwhile, Germany will host Zelenskyy for talks on Monday as peace efforts gain momentum. European leaders are looking for it to guide the negotiations.
For months, American negotiators have tried to navigate each side’s demands as U.S. President Donald Trump presses for a quick end to the war with Russia, which has been increasingly aggravated by delays. The search for possible compromises has run into a major hurdle over who currently holds Ukrainian territory for Russian forces.