Ukraine hands peace talks to US in bid to end war with Russia

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy announced that the nation has handed over peace proposals to US negotiators, aiming to bring an end to the conflict with Russia that has endured for over four years. Zelenskiyy made the declaration in his daily video address. The United States, according to Zelenskiyy, could bolster Ukraine's defense, primarily through air defense systems, and apply pressure on Russia to alter its objectives from prolonging the war to seeking a peaceful resolution.

Additionally, Zelenskiyy accused Russia of employing North Korean ballistic missiles in an assault on a Ukrainian steel manufacturing facility in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, resulting in the death of seven workers. This facility, Zaporizhstal, was compelled to cease production following the missile strike, which Russia intensified against Zaporizhzhia with hypersonic Zircon missiles, guided aerial bombs, and ballistic missiles.

The tragic strike took place as employees were promptly moving towards a shelter after an air-raid warning was issued. Metinvest Group, the parent company of Zaporizhstal, reported the death toll at seven. The regional governor of Zaporizhzhia, Ivan Fedorov, shared images of buildings and vehicles engulfed in flames after the attack, along with four residential structures severely damaged.

Notably, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remained unaffected by the assault. Russia's defense ministry claimed that their forces targeted a metallurgical plant in Zaporizhzhia producing flat-rolled steel utilized by the Ukrainian military. The ministry also reported that Russian forces had struck the Nova Poshta sorting complex in Kyiv, describing it as a facility distributing dual-use items such as drone components and electronic warfare equipment.

These attacks followed a Ukrainian drone strike on Monday that Russian authorities asserted had resulted in at least 13 deaths and 39 injuries in Nizhnekamsk, marking one of the most severe civilian casualties in Russia in recent months. Ukraine's forces claimed responsibility for targeting Nizhnekamsk's TANECO oil refinery.