Russia and Ukraine exchange airstrikes as US envoy describes renewed security talks as productive

On the second day of security talks in Brussels, Russia and Ukraine exchanged airstrikes overnight, highlighting the daunting scale of the reconstruction needed once hostilities cease, according to the source. The relentless search for victims trapped under the rubble following a deadly Russian airstrike in southern Ukraine on Monday underscored the gravity of the situation.

Ukraine retaliated with hundreds of drone strikes against Russian targets, while Russia's Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down nearly 500 Ukrainian drones in response. Amid the ongoing conflict, a Ukrainian drone attack on a bus in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region on Thursday claimed five lives and injured 13 others, according to Leonid Pasechnik, the Moscow-backed leader of the region.

Rescue teams were still busy searching for over 30 people believed to be trapped in the wreckage of a former school and a nearby shelter that Russian guided bombs destroyed on Monday, as residents waited anxiously for humanitarian aid in the Zaporizhzhia region.