Moscow, Kyiv Threaten to Raise Stakes  09/02 06:22

   

   KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- Russian aerial attacks struck apartment buildings in 
Ukraine's Kyiv and Odesa regions overnight and Wednesday morning, wounding at 
least eight civilians, local officials said. The Ukrainian air force said those 
two regions bore the brunt of the latest attacks on the country.

   The air war between Russia and Ukraine has intensified as the conflict 
stretches into its fifth year following Moscow's invasion of its neighbor. The 
front line in eastern and southern Ukraine remains largely deadlocked, and U.S. 
efforts to negotiate a peace settlement have yet to produce a path to peace.

   Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 
exchanged threats late Tuesday over what their next steps might be.

   Zelenskyy warned foreign airlines that the skies over Russia are not safe 
for flights because of Ukrainian long-range drone attacks, saying that "Russian 
airspace will effectively be closing." He said the military pressure aims to 
compel Russia to accept peace negotiations.

   Putin accused Zelenskyy of "state terrorism" and said: "We don't negotiate 
with terrorists."

   At a late-night news conference on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation 
Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan, Putin also addressed reports that the 
Ukrainian military had used British-made drones to strike targets inside Russia.

   Asked whether Russia would strike British military facilities if the U.K. 
government continues to provide Ukraine with weaponry, Putin declined to rule 
it out. With a small smile, he told reporters that is "a military secret."

   China and North Korea, meanwhile, have provided military support for Russia, 
as has Iran in previous years.

   The Russian and Ukrainian leaders' comments came as European officials weigh 
their response to the latest in what they say is Moscow's campaign of 
continental sabotage and disruption aimed at weakening support for Ukraine. 
Germany on Tuesday blamed Russia for an attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle 
Airport last month using a drone laden with explosives.

   Russia's Odesa attack destroys several floors of an apartment building

   Russia fired 174 attack drones, about half of them jet-powered drones that 
are hard to stop and are increasingly being deployed by Moscow, as well as two 
ballistic missiles and two plane-launched missiles at Ukraine overnight, 
according to the Ukrainian air force.

   Officials in the southern Ukraine region of Odesa reported that the attack 
damaged a 24-story residential building, destroying apartments on several 
floors and wounding eight people, including a child.

   Odesa office buildings and two educational facilities were also damaged, 
Serhii Lysak, head of the Odesa city military administration, said.

   The barrage also caused a power outage that halted electric-powered public 
transport, the city council said.

   A man and a woman were wounded by shrapnel in morning attacks on the Kyiv 
region, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the regional military 
administration.

   It was the seventh straight day Kyiv came under attack, although the latest 
barrage wasn't as heavy as in previous days.

   The assault started a fire at a warehouse, officials said. Russian forces 
have targeted civilian facilities in what Ukrainian officials say is an effort 
to disrupt daily life and sap public morale.

   A fire broke out at an educational facility and a medical practice was also 
damaged, the Kyiv city military administration said.

   Russia says 2 killed, 16 wounded by Ukrainian drones

   Russian air defenses destroyed 130 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia's 
Defense Ministry said Wednesday. The drones were shot down over 11 Russian 
regions, as well as the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and the Black 
Sea, it said.

   Ukrainian drone attacks killed two people in Russia's Belgorod border region 
and wounded 16 more, acting Gov. Alexander Shuvayev said. Ukrainian forces hit 
the region 140 times over the course of 24 hours, he said.

   Ukraine's domestically developed long-range drones have repeatedly targeted 
Russia's oil sector, hoping to dent the economy, and the warehouses of online 
retailers, to make the Russian public feel the effects of war.

   Russia is making no progress on the front line, analysts say

   The Russian army's effort to drive deeper into Ukraine has lost its 
momentum, according to Western analysts and officials.

   Russian advances last August were "a fraction" of Moscow's gains during the 
same month last year, the Institute for the Study of War said late Tuesday.

   Russia's spring-summer offensive has failed to smash Ukraine's front-line 
defenses, the Washington-based think tank said.

   "Russian gains remain slow and limited," it said.