Russian strikes kill two in Ukraine after Moscow rejects call to de-escalate

Rescue workers put out a fire in the central market damaged in a Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Saturday (Kateryna Klochko/AP)

Russian strikes on Ukraine killed at least two people overnight into Sunday, officials said, hours after Moscow rejected German calls to ease off its escalation towards Nato.

Russia’s top diplomat on Saturday brushed off what is believed to have been the first tête-à-tête with his German counterpart since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The meeting was held during the UN General Assembly’s annual gathering of world leaders, as an intensifying aerial war between Russia and Ukraine shows no sign of slowing.

Ties between Russia and Germany have soured in recent weeks, following an attempted drone attack last month at Leipzig airport that Berlin blamed on the Kremlin.

With front-line positions largely unchanged since last year, Moscow has hammered its neighbour with cruise and ballistic missiles, powerful glide bombs and jet-powered drones in recent months. Meanwhile, Kyiv’s long-range drones have targeted Russian oil refineries and businesses.

In Kyiv, a man was found dead after a Russian drone hit a non-residential building overnight, according to Ukraine’s emergency service.

Another drone struck a single-storey vehicle repair shop, leaving firefighters battling the blaze into Sunday, the emergency service said.

Russian forces also struck Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, which surrounds the country’s main Black Sea port, multiple times overnight, killing one person and injuring two others, according to the head of the local military administration, Oleh Kiper.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov was dismissive after the meeting in New York, which was held at German foreign minister Johann Wadephul’s request. Mr Lavrov said Mr Wadephul “simply reiterated his official position condemning Russia”.

He added: “You can judge for yourself whether that counts as dialogue or not.”

Mr Wadephul expressed openness to a better relationship but said it required a genuine willingness from Russia’s leadership to end the war in Ukraine, according to a German delegation official.

An overwhelming majority of UN member nations have repeatedly condemned Moscow’s invasion. The Kremlin describes the war a “special military operation” intended to ensure Russia’s security and the rights of Russian speakers.