Five dead in Russian attacks in Ukraine's Kherson region

Russian attacks killed five people in Ukraine's southern Kherson region in three separate incidents, the regional governor said.

Oleksandr Prokudin, writing on Telegram, said a strike yesterday on a district of the region's main city, also called Kherson, killed three people in their 70s and 80s whose bodies were found in damaged homes.

An attack on a petrol station north of the city killed one person and injured seven, Mr Prokudin said. An evening drone strike killed a man in a village, also north of Kherson.

Kherson is one of four regions that were annexed by Russia six months after Russia's 2022 invasion.

Russian forces over-ran much of the region in the early stages of the invasion, but Ukrainian forces recaptured stretches of territory, including the city of Kherson. Ukrainian-held areas come under frequent Russian attack.

Over the border in Russia's western Belgorod Region, a frequent Ukrainian target, a Ukrainian drone struck a car near the border, killing the driver, local officials said.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. Russia and Ukraine deny deliberately targeting civilians.

Putin rules out Zelensky meeting

Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday ruled out meeting his Ukrainian counterpart any time soon, a day after Volodymyr Zelensky called for a face-to-face meeting between the leaders to end the four-year war.

Speaking at the economic forum in his home city of Saint Petersburg, Mr Putin said he saw "no point" in meeting Mr Zelensky until a possible peace deal had been agreed.

Mr Zelensky responded that the Russian leader was "weak" and "choosing war again".

On Thursday, the Ukrainian president issued a rare direct appeal to the Russian leader.

"Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us - and you. I am proposing a meeting," Mr Zelensky said in an open letter.

"I propose to set a clear date for such a meeting," he added.

Mr Putin refused however.

The Russian president spoke just two days after the opening of SPIEF - once dubbed the 'Russian Davos' - was overshadowed by Ukrainian drone strikes on Saint Petersburg.

Kyiv has intensified its attacks on Russia's vital energy infrastructure - oil depots, refineries, exporting hubs - which are threatening to dent Moscow's most important income stream.

In the early years of Mr Putin's rule, Western investors keen to make money in Russia's chaotic and fast-growing economy would gather at the SPIEF to strike deals and meet the Russian elite.

Now drones and machine guns are out on display.

AFP reporters saw Russian-made humanoid robots walking the venue halls, where stands promoting investment into regions annexed from Ukraine were prominent.

The guests included former Hollywood star turned Putin-backer Steven Seagal, American conspiracy theorist Candace Owens, Mr Trump's ballroom commissioner and MPs from the far-right Alternative for Germany party.