Four dead in Russian attack as diplomatic efforts to end Ukraine war continue

A Russian missile attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro has killed four people and injured 40, authorities have said. Unconfirmed reports say a ballistic missile was used in the strike, which took place on Monday morning. Videos shared online showed a large explosion occur on the side of a motorway, and local media said an office block, cars and shops were hit or badly damaged. Dnipro, which lies around 100km (62 miles) from the front line, has frequently come under Russian attack since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022.The attack came a day before US special envoy Steve Witkoff is due to meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Witkoff has visited the Russian president several times this year, but has never been to Kyiv. On Sunday, a Ukrainian delegation met Witkoff, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in Florida. Zelensky said on Monday that the talks had been "very constructive" but that there were some "tough issues" to be worked through - echoing Rubio's comments that the meeting had been "productive" but that there was "more work to be done".The Florida meeting was the latest step in weeks of intense "shuttle diplomacy" which saw Ukrainian and Russian delegations separately engage with US officials to discuss a peace plan. Despite efforts, however, substantial differences remain between Moscow and Kyiv's positions. Russia has refused to back down from its core demand that Ukraine retreats from the areas of the Donbas region it still holds, which Kyiv maintains it will never do. "If they don't withdraw, we'll achieve this by force of arms," Vladimir Putin said. In response, Zelensky said that Russia "scorned" efforts "to truly end the war".Matters surrounding Ukraine's future security are also a source of contention. Kyiv and its European partners are keen for Ukraine to be given security guarantees - such as Nato membership - that would protect it from being attacked again. But Russia vehemently opposes this and Donald Trump too has ruled out allowing Ukraine to join the military alliance.Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Paris to rally support from French President Emmanuel Macron, and will head to Ireland on Tuesday. In recent weeks, concern has grown in Kyiv and among Europeans that the US was becoming more amenable to Russia's demands than Ukraine's, and that Europe was being excluded from the negotiating table. Zelensky has also been weakened politically at home by a corruption scandal. His chief of staff Andriy Yermak, who had also led the Ukrainian delegation at peace talks, resigned on Friday after anti-corruption investigators raided his home - although he has not been accused of wrongdoing. Two cabinet ministers have also been fired.On Sunday Trump told reporters on Air Force One that Ukraine had "some difficult little problems", referring to the scandal, and repeated his view that both Russia and Ukraine wanted to end the war.Tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed or injured, as well as thousands of civilians, and at least seven million people have become refugees, since Russia invaded on 24 February 2022.The conflict between the two ex-Soviet states stretches back to 2014 when Ukraine's pro-Russian president was overthrown and Russia responded by annexing Crimea and supporting armed uprisings in eastern Ukraine.