Russia accuses Ukraine of escalating air attacks to thwart peace talks

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MOSCOW - Moscow on Tuesday accused Kyiv of increasing air barrages with the aim of disrupting peace talks and said that its own massive assaults on Ukraine were a "response" to Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia.

US-led efforts to force peace negotiations between the neighbours have failed to reach a breakthrough and left President Donald Trump frustrated with both sides.

On Monday, Moscow launched the biggest air attack on Ukraine since the start of its 2022 full-scale offensive.

"Kyiv, with the support of some European countries, has taken a series of provocative steps to thwart negotiations initiated by Russia," Moscow's defence ministry said, adding that the Russian army was striking Ukraine "in response to mass Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian regions".

Moscow claimed it was hitting "only military targets" in Ukraine but it launched an attack on Sunday that killed 13 civilians, including three children from the same family, in Ukraine's central city of Zhytomyr.

Moscow said it had launched the attacks after Ukraine sent 1,465 drones into Russia since May 20.

It said Russian civilians, "including women and children", were wounded in the Ukrainian attacks, and warned that it would continue strikes "in response to any terrorist attacks or provocations by Kyiv".

After the massive attacks on Ukraine, Trump said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had gone "crazy", in rare criticism of the Kremlin chief.