US-Russia talks this weekend

WASHINGTON, Dec 18 (AFP): US and Russian officials will meet in Miami this weekend for new talks on President Donald Trump's plan for ending the Ukraine war, a White House official told AFP Wednesday.

The talks come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed progress during two days of meetings in Berlin between Kyiv and Trump's envoys, while warning that Moscow was preparing for a "new year of war."

Trump's roving envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to take part on the US side, while Putin's economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev is set to be in the Russian delegation, Politico reported.

The White House official did not give details of the US and Russian teams.

There has been a flurry of international diplomacy in recent weeks to end Russia's nearly four-year-old invasion, with Witkoff and Kushner having met Putin in the Kremlin in November and the Ukrainians and European leaders in Berlin.

But large differences remain all around. Ukraine and the United States say there has been progress on the question of future security guarantees for Kyiv, but there are disagreements on what territory Ukraine would have to cede.

Putin meanwhile said on Wednesday that Moscow would "certainly" achieve its objectives in the war, including seizing the territories it claims are its own.

Ukrainian drone attacks

kill 3 in Russia's Rostov

Ukrainian drone attacks overnight Thursday killed three people in Russia's Rostov region, the regional governor said, as the conflict rages on despite US efforts to stop the fighting.

An attack caused a fire on a cargo ship in the port of the regional capital, killing two crew members and injuring three, acting regional governor Yuri Sliusar said on Telegram. The blaze was later extinguished.

A civilian was also killed and six others injured in the town of Bataysk, near the port facilities, he said. "Municipal commissions will document all the consequences of the attack," Sliusar said.

Ukraine has been stepping up nightly drone raids deep inside Russian territory, targeting energy infrastructure that Moscow relies on to fund its offensive.

Russian officials say dozens of drones are intercepted each night.

In recent weeks, Kyiv has claimed naval drone attacks on Russian tankers in the Black Sea and strikes on Russian ports, including Novorossiysk, where a major oil terminal was forced to halt operations late in November.

Moscow has responded with regular bombardments of Ukraine's port city of Odesa, hitting transport vessels-including Turkish ships-in recent days.