RUSSIA claimed today to have conquered two more settlements in Ukraine following an overnight missile and drone barrage that killed three, including a four-year-old child.

The attacks came after inconclusive talks with US diplomats in Miami aimed at agreeing ceasefire terms with Kiev. Ukrainian and Russian teams were both in the city, but met separately with US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff. They also follow the assassination of a Russian general, Fanil Sarvarov, in Moscow on Monday.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said “minimal” progress had been made in removing “irritants” to relations with Washington.

Russia accuses European Nato powers of trying to prevent it agreeing peace terms — an allegation also levelled by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban — while Western European leaders say they are determined to give Ukraine the wherewithal to keep fighting rather than be forced to accept unfavourable terms. Yesterday Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Duric offered Belgrade as a forum for further negotiations, pointing out it was one of the few capitals to maintain good relations with both sides, and describing ending the Ukraine war as “the most pressing problem for Europe.”

Polish aircraft scrambled after missiles struck Ukraine near the country’s border, while Ukraine also fired into Russia, striking a petrochemicals plant in Stavropol, as both countries target each other’s energy infrastructure — a war crime. Ukrainian authorities warned people to expect power cuts, even as temperatures plunge well below zero.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said it had hit “enterprises of Ukraine’s military-industrial sector and their energy facilities” in retaliation for Kiev hitting “civilian facilities.” It also reported having “liberated” the settlements of Prilipka in the Kharkiv region and Andreyevka in the Dnipropetrovsk region — using the term though neither region is among those officially claimed by Moscow as Russian territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was stepping up its attacks in the run-up to Christmas, when “people simply want to be with their families, at home, and safe.” Ukraine switched its official Christmas date from January 6 — the date it is celebrated in most Orthodox countries — to December 25 in a symbolic break with Russia and alignment with the West in 2023.