Putin tries to revive summit after airstrikes on Ukraine

Eight cities targeted by Russia in deadly drone attack

- JAMES C. REYNOLDS

Russian drones and missiles blasted sites across Ukraine yesterday, killing at least six people, but the Kremlin sought to revive hopes of another summit with Donald Trump after Washington appeared to put the plan on hold.

The attacks came in waves and targeted at least eight Ukrainian cities as well as a village in the region of the capital, Kyiv, where a strike set fire to a house in which the mother and daughters, 12 and six months, were staying, regional head Mykola Kalashnyk said

Russian drones also hit a kindergarten in Kharkiv. One person was killed and six were hurt, but no children were harmed.

Donald Trump said on Tuesday he did not want a “wasted meeting” after a White House official said that there were “no plans” for a bilateral summit “in the immediate future”. He had indicated last week that he and Vladimir Putin would hold talks in Budapest within two weeks, but Moscow’s reluctance to agree to a ceasefire appears to have derailed diplomatic efforts.