A Ukrainian long-range drone strike triggered fires at Russia’s Taman port while Russian drones struck infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region, days before U.S.-brokered negotiations resume in Geneva.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A Ukrainian drone attack set off fires at Russia’s Black Sea port of Taman in the Krasnodar region on Sunday, according to regional authorities, just days before a new round of U.S.-brokered negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian envoys.
Krasnodar Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev said the strike damaged an oil storage tank, a warehouse and port terminals, and left two people wounded. The port lies along a key energy export corridor used by Russia for oil shipments.
Ukrainian long-range drone operations have increasingly targeted Russian energy infrastructure, aiming to reduce oil export revenues that support Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Russian forces, in turn, have continued aerial attacks on Ukraine’s civilian and energy infrastructure.
Ukrainian officials reported that falling debris from Russian drones damaged civilian and transport infrastructure in the Odesa region, disrupting electricity and water supplies. Kyiv has repeatedly accused Moscow of attempting to “weaponize winter” by targeting heating and power systems.
The exchange of strikes came ahead of renewed U.S.-brokered peace discussions scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Geneva. The talks are set to take place days before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 22.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said key issues remain unresolved, particularly regarding long-term security guarantees for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy also raised questions about a proposed U.S.-backed free trade zone and how it would apply to the Donbas region, much of which remains under Russian control. Moscow has insisted that Kyiv relinquish claims to the industrial region as part of any peace arrangement.
He said the United States is seeking to conclude agreements quickly and prefers that all elements of a settlement be signed simultaneously, while Ukraine wants future security guarantees secured first.
Those concerns were echoed by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“Unless we have real security guarantees on whatever peace agreement is ultimately determined, we are going to be here again, because one of the things we know is that Russia has geared up not just for Ukraine, but to go beyond Ukraine,” Shaheen told reporters in Munich on Sunday.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also addressed the negotiations at the Munich conference, stating that Russia may be seeking to achieve diplomatically what it has not secured on the battlefield. She said Moscow was likely counting on the United States to offer concessions, but emphasized that sanctions relief and asset unfreezing decisions rest with European governments.
“If we want a sustainable peace then we need concessions also from the Russian side,” Kallas said.
Previous U.S.-led attempts to broker progress — including two rounds of discussions held in Abu Dhabi — have not resolved core disputes, particularly the status of the Donbas region. With the war nearing its fourth year, negotiators face continued battlefield pressure alongside diplomatic challenges as talks resume in Geneva.
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