The Japan Times - Russian strikes kill 25 as Zelensky makes peace bid in Turkey

A US official said however that US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff will not be attending talks in Turkey, casting further doubt as to what the Ukrainian leader could achieve there.

The attack on Ternopil was the deadliest for weeks and the worst on the west of the country -- far from the frontline -- since Moscow invaded in 2022.

AFP saw dozens of rescuers searching through rubble after the strike, using cranes to get to the destroyed building. Thick grey smoke engulfed the streets just after explosions were heard at 7.00 am.

Ternopil officials reported the fires had caused chlorine levels in the air to spike to six times the norm, and called on the city's 200,000 residents to stay home and close their windows.

Rescuers dangled on cabins hanging from cranes trying to reach the top of the stricken Soviet-ear apartment block.

Wrapped in a pink blanket, 46-year-old Oksana waited for news of her 20-year-old son, Bohdan.

"I went to work, and my son stayed at home. I called him from the minibus and said 'Bohdan, get dressed and come out'," she said. "He said: 'Mum, don't worry, everything will be fine.' But it was too late. That's it," she told AFP.

Her sister, Natalia Bachinska, said the family lived on the ninth floor.

"Their apartment is completely gone... He still has not been found."

The interior ministry said 25 people, including three children, were killed "as a result of Russian shelling of the city". It added that 75 people, including 15 children, were wounded.

Ukraine's foreign ministry said it would bring the "horrific killing" to the "forefront" at a UN Security Council meeting in New York on Thursday and called for international condemnation.

"This is how Russia's 'peace plans' look like in reality," Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said.

The strike came as Russia batters Ukraine's energy grid ahead of the winter, and with Ukraine's stretched troops under pressure on the frontline.

In Moscow, the Kremlin declined to comment on a report by US media outlet Axios that it had been working on a secret plan with the United States to end the almost four-year-long war.

- 'Insufficient' pressure -

Kyiv's air force said Russia had fired more than 476 drones and 48 missiles overnight.

The attacks also wounded at least 46 people in the northeastern region of Kharkiv, and targeted other areas of western Ukraine.

Neighbouring Romania scrambled fighter jets as it reported a Russian drone had crossed into its airspace, while Moldova also said its airspace was breached during the night.

Ahead of his talks in Turkey, Zelensky called on Ukraine's Western backers to do more to get Russia to end the war.

"Every brazen attack against ordinary life shows that the pressure on Russia is insufficient," he said.

- Witkoff not going to Turkey -

In Turkey, Zelensky was to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He said they would "discuss the best ways to ensure Ukraine achieves a just peace".

A day earlier, Zelensky said the trip to Ankara would "reinvigorate" frozen peace talks.

A senior Ukrainian official told AFP the "main goal is for the Americans to re-engage" in peace efforts.

But Witkoff -- who Kyiv said was initially scheduled to join -- not attending dashed those hopes.

Kyiv wants Washington to push Russia to the negotiating table, including by imposing sanctions, the Ukrainian official had said.

Turkey -- which retains working relations with Moscow and Kyiv -- has hosted several rounds of talks between the warring sides.

- US-Russia plan -

So far, these have only yielded prisoner exchanges and the repatriation of killed soldiers' bodies.

The Kremlin said no Russian official would be at the talks, but that it remained open to negotiations.

Trump has sought to leverage his relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to end the war, but has so far failed to make progress.

Russian troops are making slow but steady advances and Putin has demanded Kyiv cede more territory and renounce Western military support if it wants to halt the invasion.

S.Suzuki--JT