Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed agreements on security and energy cooperation with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, in Baku on Saturday, as Kyiv seeks to leverage its air defence experience against Russia. The deals include military-industrial cooperation, Zelenskyy stated. Aliyev noted that military-industrial partnerships have "wide-ranging perspectives" and discussed joint defence production, though no specific deals were confirmed.
Peace Talks and Rising Casualties
Zelenskyy also aims to reinvigorate peace talks with Russia, previously mediated by the US. He discussed with Aliyev the possibility of hosting Ukraine-Russia negotiations in Azerbaijan. "We are ready for the next talks [to be] in Azerbaijan if Russia will be ready for diplomacy," Zelenskyy said.
Meanwhile, Russian attacks on the southeastern city of Dnipro and other regions killed 10 people. Regional Governor Oleksandr Hanzha reported eight dead and 49 injured in Dnipro, a frequent target. "For more than 20 frightening hours, the Russians attacked Dnipro in waves," he wrote on Telegram. "They hit with missiles and drones. They hit deliberately. They hit residential areas." Two more fatalities occurred in northern Ukraine.
Drone Attacks and Regional Impact
A Ukrainian drone attack on Sevastopol in Russian-annexed Crimea killed one man and wounded three others, according to Moscow-installed Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev. He reported 43 UAVs shot down, with one fatality inside a vehicle.
Russian Parliament Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin arrived in North Korea to commemorate Pyongyang's troop deployment to Ukraine. North Korea has sent an estimated 14,000 troops, with over 6,000 killed, per South Korean, Ukrainian, and Western officials.
In Romania, a drone crashed after Russian strikes near the Ukrainian border, prompting evacuation of over 200 people. This marked the first instance of debris from Russian drones causing material damage on Romanian territory, damaging an electricity pole and an outbuilding. No casualties were reported, but gas supplies were cut as a precaution.
